KUWAIT CITY (Kuwait) - Turki Alshemmari was the calming presence Kuwait Club badly needed to overcome Muharraq, 107-101, and move one win away from the 2025-26 FIBA WASL-Gulf League Semi-Finals, Monday night at the Shaikh Saad Alabdullah Sport Hall Complex.
The seasoned point guard finished with 8 points, none bigger than the 5 straight he made in a short span which enabled the home team to avert disaster after squandering a 95-78 lead early in the fourth quarter.
He knocked down a wide-open corner three-pointer to erase a 98-99 deficit with 1:28 to go, and then went perfect from the foul line to make it a 103-99 spread 10 seconds later to put themselves ahead for good.
Joffrey Lauvergne would help keep their foes at bay, before Moh Hasan struck the dagger triple with 23.7 seconds left to settle the final count - and seal the 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 Qualification to Semi-Finals series.
"With his good effort, and with his good confidence, plus his good work ethic which he shows in practice, he deserved to score that shot," lauded head coach Dusan Stojkov of Alshemmari, who also had 3 rebounds.
Charlie Moore top-scored for Kuwait Club with 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists, highlighted by the swing that led to Alshemmari's all-important trey. He shot 44-percent from the floor, including a trio of threes.
Lauvergne came through with a double-double of his own with 23 points on an excellent 11-of-13 shooting and 14 rebounds, netting an efficiency of 32 to earn himself Capelli Sport Player of the Game honors.
Hamad Hasan, his head heavily bandaged after receiving an inadvertent elbow from Nick West early in the match, still contributed 18 points, spiked by four threes. Jamal Jones had 15 points, while Moh added 13.
Kuwait Club will now turn their attention to Game 2 next Monday, February 9, at the BBA Arena in Bahrain in which they will try to close it out and book a return trip to the Semi-Finals after failing to get there last season.
Kris Clyburn made 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists for Muharraq, who appeared to have stolen one on the road when they unloaded a 17-0 blast to tie things up at 95-all before taking a 99-96 lead with 2:40 to go.
It was actually Clyburn himself who gave them that three-point lead following a tough layup inside but the crew, as a whole, couldn't sustain the upper hand, gradually collapsing before losing in the end.
Still, it was a gallant stand for a team that had two new faces in Clyburn and Michael Warren, both of which were brought in by the Red Wolves to address the absences of Kerwin Roach and Timmy Bond due to injuries.
In all fairness as well, the latest additions made a good account of themselves, with Warren tallying 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists as he played a key role in their furious fourth-quarter retaliation.
Nick West made 23 points and 11 rebounds , while Mohammed Ameer added 12 points in the comeback that fell just short, which should give Muharraq some confidence heading into the win-or-go-home game next week.
"It shows that we're a good team when we put in the effort and play together," said Clyburn, "and run, get stops and stuff. It's a momentum builder going into that next game, knowing that we can compete with this team."
FIBA