BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Almost every basketball competition out there has a pool of teams billed as the 'group of death,' and that could be Group B in the upcoming FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) Final 8 2026.
The favorite: Sagesse SC
And one of the reasons why would be Sagesse SC. Of the teams in this cluster, the Lebanese contenders are coming in with a tradition of sorts to keep: maintaining their spot in the tournament's podium.
They've been in the last 2 editions of the pan-regional meet's culminating event and they took a medal in each of those campaigns, first a silver in 2024 in Qatar and then a bronze in the tilt that followed in Zouk Mikael.
Needless to say, they're armed with experience in this kind of contest, and their recent movements during the lull shall make the team of Coach Joe Ghattas one to watch out for given the names they picked up.
Aside from re-signing their stars led by Youssef Khayat, the Green Castle have fortified their roster by bringing in a stable of seasoned reinforcements, namely AJ English, Jamal Jones, Mike Watkins, and Zid Powell.
Lest we forget that they also inked another Lebanon men's team standout Ali Mezher, who's bringing the experiences he gained from Japan's B.League Premier to his much-awaited WASL debut.
This could be a much more promising crew than the one they had during the 2025-26 WASL-West Asia League. And definitely, Sagesse are hoping as well that their pieces now would be enough to get over the hump.
The underdog: Al Ula Club
Speaking of souped-up teams, Al Ula Club won't be left behind. They have their own strong cast of imports as well in Australia Boomer Mitch Creek, former France men's team guard David Michineau, and Elijah Stewart.
There remains star big man Mohammed Alsuwailem to patrol the paint, although the team's front office also made sure to fortify their local crew by signing ex-Ittihad Cub standouts Mo Almarwani and Yasir Aljohani.
On paper, the Arabian Leopards appear to be a competitive bunch. However, fans and observers alike are curious if this team could be as good as the one that played in the 2025-26 WASL-Gulf League Group Phase.
It is warranted, since Al Ula back then were bannered by WASL champions Wael Arakji and Thon Maker, plus former Sagesse star Jonathan Gibson. Behind them, the club finished atop Group B with a 4-2 record.
Had the season not been paused, that squad may have gone all the way, given the kind of star power they possessed. So, it should go without saying that their current foreign players have huge shoes to fill.
Ditto with the locals as the Final 8 could be an avenue for them to show they can deliver the goods - and not be overly reliant on their reinforcements.
Key matchup: Gorgan versus Sagesse
Could this be a battle between potential Semi-Finalists? What's sure, though, is that it would be another platoff-like atmosphere when these 2 WASL-West Asia League competitors take the floor on September 27.
It will actually be their 4th meeting overall in the competition, with their previous 3 meetings at the Sub-Zone League level. And of the 2, Sagesse are coming in bent to take down their Iranian counterparts.
That's because they have not won against Gorgan. The last time they faced one another was just last November in Ghazir, which saw the 2-time WASL-West Asia League come away with the 97-92 road victory.
Can they flip the script this time? Sagesse are surely hoping so. If they do, then the team could be strengthening their bid of not only locking the no. 1 seed in the group but booking another trip to the Semi-Finals.
But of course, they all know that it would be easier said than done. Aside from the head-to-head advantage, Gorgan have fortified their roster by bringing in familiar faces that have succeeded in the league.
From WASL pioneer Sajjad Pazrofteh to Navid Rezaeifar and Rasoul Mozafari, plus the comebacking bench tactician Mehran Hatami, the Iran Basketball League outfit looks poised for another deep run.
The open question: Can the Gulf teams succeed?
But as exciting as those WASL-West Asia teams are, we shall never look past the other 2 teams in this pool, both of which would be under scrutiny as some are wondering if they can put on for the WASL-Gulf League.
Because after the Final 8 inaugurals, no team from the Sub-Zone League has been able to go all the way to the Final, making Manama and Kuwait Club the only clubs from the Gulf to have accomplished as much.
For sure, both Al Arabi and Al Ula would want to break that drought of sorts for their league. And between them, the Red Devils have the edge experience-wise, given the presence of players such as Mustafa Rashed.
'Mosti' starred for the Manama team that beat the Brigadiers in the Final 8 title bout in Dubai, scoring 18 points, including the game-sealing free throws with 28.5 seconds left for their eventual 67-59 victory.
Aside from him, Al Arabi have veteran big man Elmedin Kikanovic, who was part of the Al Riyadi crew that conquered the 2024 Final 8 and also of the team that won the BCL Asia in that same year.
The Arabian Leopards would have loved to have the Arakji-Maker-Gibson combination to arm themselves with that kind of experience at this stage, although their present batch could pull off some surprises along the way.
FIBA