DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - Sharjah SC proved steadier in the endgame and withstood Al Arabi SC, 91-89, for their first win of the 2025-26 FIBA WASL season, Tuesday night at the Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall.
Mohamed Alhashmi and DeMarco Dickerson came through with crucial free throws to break the 85-all deadlock and put them up for good, before Kavell Bigby-Williams pushed their lead to two possessions at 91-87 following a bucket inside with 12.1 seconds to go to give themselves the much-needed separation to eventually escape.
The opposition still managed to threaten when Elmedin Kikanovic scored inside off a foul with 1.4 seconds to spare, but the home team ultimately heaved a huge sigh of relief when Mohamed Hussein's attempt at cleaning up the veteran reinforcement's missed free throw - which could have sent the game into overtime - missed.
"We struggled but in the end, through all the efforts of the players, we managed to finish the game with a win," assistant coach Mohamad Zaki Ghazzaoui offered, speaking in lieu of chief mentor Abdul Alhosani.
Dickerson led the way for the UAE League Basketball champions with 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 13 assists as his efforts finally led to a victory after suffering a harsh beatdown at the hands of Al Ula Club in their debut.
Glenn Robinson III finished with his own double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds as he and Dickerson played all 40 minutes of the match, playing major roles in enabling their side to regain the lead early in the fourth quarter after the visiting crew fought back from down 48-61 and tied things up a couple of times.
Ahmed Lateef, formerly of Shabab Al Ahli, contributed 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor, while Alhashmi added 10 - none bigger than his tiebreaking split with 1:34 to go that permanently brought them ahead.
Sharjah improved to 1-1 in Group B of the WASL-Gulf League to cap off a triumphant week for both of the UAE representatives, as Shabab Al Ahli also got their first win after beating Muharraq barely 24 hours ago.
"Congratulations to us. It feels amazing. We fought really hard for it, and everybody did their part. And we came out with the win tonight," offered Lateef, himself a Sub-Zone League champion with his old ball club.
Sharjah will look to make it back-to-back wins when they take on Kuwait Club on November 18, Tuesday, in the former two-time WASL-Gulf League titlists' own lair at the Shaikh Saad Alabdullah Sport Hall Complex.
Mosti Rashed, on the other hand, fired 27 points alongside 7 rebounds and 7 assists to lead Al Arabi in the rally that fell just short, which foiled their bid of winning twice in as many outings to start the season.
Kikanovic finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Abdulrahman Saad supplied 13 points and 7 rebounds while Sindou Diallo chipped in 11 points for the Red Devils, who instead fell to 1-1 following the defeat.
"We were a bit out of focus in this game compared to the last game," lamented Al Arabi head coach Hatem Mamlouk, whose charges opened the team's campaign with an 83-78 stunner of Kuwait Club last October 21.
"We were a bit bad in the first and second quarter, especially on defense. Some decisions at the end of the game cost us the game and gave the win to Sharjah. But we’ll bounce back - this is basketball," he added.
The Qatar Basketball League champions will try to get back on track quickly when they take on Al Ula next Tuesday, November 11, at home in Doha in a battle between teams coming off stinging defeats.
FIBA