GHAZIR (Lebanon) - Paris Bass is becoming more and more optimistic of Sagesse SC's chances in the 2025-26 FIBA WASL-West Asia League now that they're in the midst of a winning run after a poor start.
So much so that the star forward believes his Green Castle have what it takes to make a serious run for the crown, especially after dealing Al Riyadi a harsh whipping in easily their most important victory to date.
"I think we can win it all," he said shortly after their 105-91 triumph Wednesday night. "I don't really care who's in front of us, what happened before, or what's going on now. We had a rough start. And we're back."
It was indeed a rough start for the Lebanese contenders into the season as they lost their first three assignments, leading to their worst start ever in the pan-regional competition fully owned and operated by FIBA.
Since then, however, they've managed to turn things around. Coach Joe Ghattas' charges broke through following a 75-69 victory against the hard-fighting Al Wahda SC, then came the big win against their rivals.
It was their first win versus Riyadi since a 109-106 decision in Game 2 of their WASL-West Asia League Semi-Finals series back in April 3, 2024, in which they came back from down 95-88 to force overtime and win.
Now they've gotten closer to going .500 for the first time this season and a big reason behind their resurgence has been Bass himself, with his performance against the reigning two-time WASL champs a solid proof.
There, the athletic forward submitted his best showing to date with 35 big points alongside 13 rebounds, as he keyed their strong start and the third-quarter breakaway to eventually take down the league leaders.
"We hit first, and we came out with the win," he offered. "I'm proud of everybody."
After Wednesday, Bass has become the Sub-Zone League's leading scorer with 26.0 points on 53.8-percent shooting from the field, while also averaging 10.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 2.0 blocks.
I think we can win it all.
"We count on P every game," Ghattas said. "Like tonight, P showed up as one of the best players - if not in this league, in this region. We need him to play harder and harder ... if he's playing this way, we're safe."
As impressive as he is, the 30-year-old is much prouder of how Sagesse as a whole have been growing day by day, leading to this mini winning streak which they plan to, of course, extend as much as they can.
"We're just buying into each other," Bass offered.
"Everybody's figuring out their roles, playing defense, and we're just playing as a team. We're playing together," he added. "And that's what helped us tonight. Like I said, we hit first. And we hit first together - as a team."
FIBA