DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - Shabab Al Ahli booked a return trip to the BCL Asia Semi-Finals following a hard-fought 92-88 victory over Taoyuan Pauian on Wednesday night at the Coca-Cola Arena.
The hosts leaned on Jermaine Love and Deshawndre Washington in the clutch to finish off their depleted yet determined foes on the way to ensuring that their redemption tour in this tilt continues.
Runners-up of last year's edition held in the 'City of Gold' as well, the defending FIBA WASL-Gulf League titlists have moved a step closer in getting the chance to atone for falling short on the ultimate prize.
In the next round, Shabab Al Ahli will face either the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions or Al Riyadi - the same team that crushed their golden hopes by way of a dominant showing in the Final to complete the five-game sweep.
"For us, we should enjoy tomorrow, give our best. if we have a great day, maybe we can try," said head coach Miodrag Perisic as a rematch between two of the FIBA WASL Final 8 2025 Semi-Finals foes looms.
The do-it-all Washington finished with 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists while Love delivered 23 points behind 58.3-percent shooting from the field and a perfect 9-of-9 clip from the foul line as well.
Shabab Al Ahli almost lost a 77-70 lead when the Pilots got to within one multiple times but the duo averted disaster, with Love knocking down a tough pull-up jumper to make it a 91-88 count with 28.8 seconds to go.
Washington then gave themselves more room to breathe, splitting his charities off counterpart Treveon Graham to make it a two-possession ball game - and set up what would be the eventual final count.
Taoyuan Pauian tried to catch up but none of that happened after Li Chia-Kang got caught stepping out of bounds with 14.7 seconds left to play, and the home team simply dribbled it out until the final buzzer rang.
Hamed Lateef and Qais Alshabebi made their presence felt as well in the win. The young guard came through with 13 points, while their lead big man fell just short of a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Put to naught by the loss, on the other hand, was the 37-point showing of Treveon Graham for the Pilots.
Alec Brown backed him up with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Julian Boyd added 11 points as the trio carried the load offensively for a team that badly missed the presence of the injured Lu Chun-Hsiang.
FIBA