DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - Shabab Al Ahli fought their way back to beat the also-ran Kazma SC, 84-80, on Monday night to finish the 2025-26 FIBA WASL-Gulf League Group Phase with back-to-back wins.
Bryon Allen and Assane Boye helped put together a third-quarter reversal before Deshawndre Washington took over in the fourth to seize control of the game for good after staring at a 49-37 deficit before the break.
With the come-from-behind victory, the defending Sub-Zone League titlists will finish as the no. 2 team in Group A with a 4-2 win-loss record heading into the Qualification to Semi-Finals set to commence on February 2.
"I think we can play with everybody," said head coach Miodrag Perisic as they now await which team will finish at third in the stacked Group B that features Kuwait Club, Al Ula, Sharjah SC, and Al Arabi for their next foes.
"It depends on us what kind of effort we will put in, the kind of focus we will put in. But other than that, I think we can play a quality game with anybody," the decorated Serbian bench tactician continued.
Washington top-billed for the UAE League Basketball powerhouse once again with a full line of 27 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks en route to earning Capelli Sport Player of the Game honors.
Boye finished with 22 points and 6 rebounds as well. Allen supplied 11 points and 5 rebounds while veteran big man Qais Alshabebi chipped in 10 points and 12 rebounds for the lone double-double of the match.
Allen, with some help from Boye, led an 8-0 run toward a 53-52 edge during the third, although it wasn't until a Hamed Lateef bucket before the period ended when they finally took the lead permanently at 63-61.
Then came 'DWash', who went on a personal 11-0 scoring spree - capped by a three after gaining his rhythm off four consecutive trips to the foul line - to widen the gap to 74-63 with exactly six minutes remaining.
Kazma did manage to chop the gap to just four points with 1:04 to go but they could no longer come any closer due to the home team's defense, eventually throwing in the towel before time expired.
"It's a game of runs," offered Washington. "Basketball works like that sometimes. The other team makes a lot of shots and you just have to figure it out. In the second half we came out, and we figured it out."
Phil Greene IV had 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists to lead Kazma, who ended their campaign with a 1-5 record. Strahinja Micovic and Ahmad Albaloushi backed him up with 20 and 14 points, respectively.
FIBA