ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Karim Zeinoun and Donovan Williams conspired in the clutch to help Al Riyadi nip Kuwait Club in a playoff-like battle, 83-82, on Monday night to stay unbeaten in the FIBA WASL Final 8 2026.
The two-way specialist perfectly timed Dae Dae Grant's supposed entry pass to Chinanu Onuaku and intercepted the rock with 5.2 seconds left, then kick-started a fastbreak before dishing it to the athletic wing.
Williams initiated contact and drew a foul on Hamad Hasan with two-tenths of a second to spare, giving him the chance to win it for this side which he did by coming through with a split from the free throw line.
The Brigadiers no longer had a timeout and could only throw a full-court heave as time expired, and the Yellow Castle would go on to breathe a huge sigh of relief as they did just enough to pull off a thrilling escape.
With the win, Riyadi have become the first team to reach the Semi-Finals by clinching the no. 1 spot in Group A with a 2-0 record, as they own the advantage against Indian Railways (1-1) and Kuwait Club (1-1).
And they did it by beating the same team that actually foiled their title hopes during the Final 8 inaugurals in 2023 in Dubai - the Kuwaitis beat their Lebanese foes during the Semi-Finals, 95-85, before settling for silver.
"Our players, big credit to them. They played the main role in this win," lauded lead assistant Ahmad Yamout.
Williams finished with 36 points and 10 rebounds to power a Riyadi side that faced manpower woes - Zach Lofton was under the weather, while Nick West got hounded by foul trouble as he accumulated 4 personal fouls.
We just had to keep our heads up, weather the storm. It was a dogfight, and we ended up on the top.
They managed to pull through despite that and the ejection of head coach Ahmad Farran with exactly 2 minutes left in the second chapter, as he disputed the apparent non-call on Kuwait Club's own basket.
All of the squad had to fight through without their chief mentor, with guys such as Hayk Gyokchyan (18 points, 12 rebounds) and Amir Saoud (12 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists) among those who kept the team locked in.
"This game taught us that we need to be focused from the first minute of the game," said Zeinoun as the home team stared at an 11-4 deficit to start the game before catching up, setting up the see-saw affair.
"We started the game slowly. We need to avoid this in the next games because there's no easy game in this tournament," added 'KZ,' who finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.
Riyadi will try to sweep their way into the Semi-Finals when they face the 0-2 Ittihad Club on Wednesday, September 30, at 20:45 local time.
Grant, on the other hand, finished with 24 points and 4 rebounds plus 9 assists to lead Kuwait Club. Onuaku delivered 20 points and 17 rebounds, while Moh Hasan supplied 21 points in the tough loss.
"Congratulations to Riyadi. We did our best in the game. But I told the guys to keep our heads up, since we have one more game left," said Hasan. "And then, inshallah, if we win, then we will go to the Semi-Finals."
The Brigadiers will next play the Railways on Wednesday as well in what should be a battle for the second Semi-Finals ticket from Group A. Game time is set at 17:45 local time, before the Riyadi-Ittihad clash.
FIBA