BEIRUT (Lebanon) - In case you missed it, there's a new No. 1 in town.
BC Astana are now sitting atop the 2025-26 FIBA WASL-West Asia League standings and they definitely have zero intentions of leaving even as they face no less than the reigning champions this Wednesday.
The Kazakhstan Basketball Championship outfit will take on erstwhile leaders Al Riyadi (4-2), whom they overtook following a thrilling 104-102 victory over Sagesse SC at the Ghazir Club Stadium just last week.
Eric Day came through with the game-winning jumper with 2.5 seconds left to play, finishing with 38 points to lift his side to their fifth successive victory, making them remain as the Sub-Zone League's hottest team.
No other team has been able to post that many wins in consecutive fashion this season, but they will have to put that streak on the line when they take on the pan-regional competition's 'three-peat' seekers on the road.
Game time is set at 20:45 local time at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex, with Astana (5-1) looking to repeat against a team which they beat by way of an 86-72 decision at the Saryarka Velodrome last December.
But Coach Ramunas Cvirka's charges know that it would be hard, as they will be taking on a Riyadi side that's bent on getting back on track quickly after suffering a 105-91 defeat to the Green Castle last January 15.
The highly anticipated rematch will serve as a tiebreaker of sorts as well for the perennial contenders, as they are currently locked at 2-2 in their WASL head-to-head following the result of their last encounter.
Meanwhile, Al Wahda SC will look to keep their flickering chances alive when they take on Sagesse SC on Thursday in Ghazir, hoping to sustain the momentum they got from beating Shahrdari Gorgan last week.
After losing five straight to start the season, the Syrian ball club finally broke through by taking a 101-92 decision, which in the process sent their Iranian counterparts to a second loss in a row and fell to 3-3.
It's going to be an uphill battle to at least have a chance for the next round as they have no other choice but to beat Gorgan and then Astana next week, but the crew vowed to keep fighting until they can.
The 2025-26 WASL-West Asia League preliminaries are now entering the penultimate week. For a better look at the tournament's whole picture approaching the Semi-Finals that commences in March, click here.
FIBA