ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Kuwait Club booked a Semi-Finals spot in the FIBA West Asia Super League Final 8 2026 by disposing of Indian Railways, 106-101, on Wednesday night at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex.
The Brigadiers leaned on another balanced attack led by Dae Dae Grant and Christian Brown in ousting their SABA counterparts en route to reaching the penultimate phase for the third time in as many campaigns.
They made it to the Semi-Finals during the first two editions of the pan-regional tilt's culminating showpiece, with their 2023 run a memorable one as they made it all the way to the Big Dance before bowing to Manama.
Now, they have another chance to complete their redemption story thanks to this big comeback - they missed the Final 8 last year after a shocking exit in the 2024-25 WASL-Gulf League Qualification to Semi-Finals.
"For me personally, it's nice. But I'm much happier for my team and for my club," offered head coach Dusan Stojkov, who's set to compete in his first-ever WASL Semi-Finals. "This means a lot to us."
Grant top-scored for Kuwait Club with 36 points and 9 assists, while Brown came through with 35 points and 8 rebounds as the reinforcements took turns in leading the crew to a solid start into the match.
In fact, the tandem almost matched the opposition's total scoring output in the first half, as they combined for 36 points to steer the 2-time Sub-Zone League champions to a 56-38 lead entering the intermission.
Chinanu Onuaku finished with another double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Veteran wing Moh Hasan fell just short of doing so with 10 points and 9 rebounds, as 4 players finished in twin figures in the triumph.
It was by no means an easy victory for the Kuwaiti side, as they had to endure a series of comeback attempts by the Railways late in the game.
They already held a 10-point lead with less than 4 minutes remaining but Tim Dalger caught fire and scored 7 in a 9-1 run - capped by Darlinstone Dubar layup off the break - to trim the gap to 96-94 with 1:34 to go.
Kuwait Club, though, responded aptly, with Brown and Grant joining hands to give themselves more space to breathe by widening the spread to 9 points, 103-94, with exactly 45.0 seconds remaining.
Still, Cleanthony Early - the star of their historic win against Ittihad Club the last time out - and Dubar tried to will the Railways back into the game by cutting the deficit to 3, 104-101, with 8.6 seconds to spare.
It proved to be their final stand, however, with Brown icing the game through a perfect trip to the free throw line with 6.1 seconds remaining.
"The way we performed this game wasn't so good. I'm not satisfied," said Stojkov. "After controlling the first half, it wasn't the same situation in the second half. We have to fix some things for the future [games]."
Kuwait Club will now turn their attention to Sagesse SC, the no. 1 team in Group B, in the knockout Semi-Finals this Saturday, October 3.
Early led the Railways with 39 points and 9 rebounds. Dubar produced 30 points and 7 rebounds, while Dalger tallied 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists as the troika carried much of the load for their team.
Unfortunately, their efforts weren't enough to send the squad to the Semi-Finals, instead bowing out with a 1-2 record although it's nonetheless a marked improvement for a SABA representative in this competition.
FIBA