ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Deshawndre Washington and Youssef Khayat towed Sagesse SC past Al Ula Club, 95-89, on Tuesday night to notch their second win in as many games in the FIBA WASL Final 8 2026.
The WASL-Gulf League champion with Shabab Al Ahli dropped 39 points and 11 rebounds, while 'Yoyo' finished with 28 and 7 as they took turns in leading the home team to a solid start that set the tone in their favor.
Khayat actually did most of the heavy lifting himself in the opening period alone, so much so that he outscored their Saudi Arabian counterparts by firing 17 to power his side to a 24-16 advantage at quarter's end.
'DWash' then made it his show in the ensuing frame much to the delight of their fans inside the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex, scoring 17 of his own to help the Green Castle remain in control entering the intermission.
It was the same in the fourth as Washington led the strong closeout with highlight-worthy plays, but the others such as AJ English, Aziz Abdel Massih, and Karim Ezzedine came through to ensure they'd stay unscathed.
The troika buried key triples to stop every attempt of the Arabian Leopards to mount a comeback, eventually wearing them off en route to securing the lead in Group B with a pristine 2-0 record.
With that, they're assured of advancing to the Semi-Finals on Saturday, leaving Al Ula and Shahrdari Gorgan fighting in a virtual knockout game on Thursday for the other available ticket from the pool.
"Really happy with the win. The team showed great performance. All the credit goes to the players, they really stuck to the plan. They were disciplined, and they were fighting for 40 minutes," Coach Joe Ghattas said.
English was the only other player in double figures for Sagesse with 10 points as the opposing team's defensive scheme targeted him and Jamal Jones, both of whom delivered in their escape of Gorgan the last time out.
It did work for the two after the former Kuwait Club import got held to just 2 points, but that only gave an opportunity for Washington and Khayat to come in and produce, ultimately combining for 67 points.
"We managed to limit some of them, AJ and Jamal Jones. But we allowed Yoyo to score 17 points in the first quarter. We controlled him a bit, he scored 11 points in the last 30 minutes," said Coach Izzat Ismail.
"But the main issue was Washington," he added, frustrated with the way his supposedly defensive-oriented unit defended. "He scored 39 and put most of our players in foul trouble ... he was leading, we were following."
Wasted by the loss was the production of David Michineau, who finished with 35 points and 10 rebounds. Lead big man Mohammed Alsuwailem registered a double-double of his own with 21 points and 14 rebounds.
Elijah Stewart made 16 points, while Mitch Creek added 14 for Al Ula, who actually took a 61-60 lead with 5:21 to go in the third until Khayat and Washington responded with a 9-0 run, effectively restoring order.
FIBA