ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Abdulaziz Alhamidi proved to be the difference as Al Qadsia SC escaped Shabab Al Ahli, 79-76, to stay alive in the FIBA WASL Final 8 2025, Tuesday night at the Stade Nouhad Naufal.
Flexing his experience in this stage, the veteran forward punched 26 points, including 9 in the final frame as he put the Kuwaiti side in control after engaging in a see-saw battle with the WASL-Gulf League titlists.
That included a rare four-point play completion - off a Hamed Lateef foul - with 5:40 remaining, which turned a one-point deficit to a 68-65 advantage that put them ahead the rest of the way.
He was also responsible for adding more to their lead, knocking down another triple to trigger a mini 7-1 run - which he himself capped off as well with a perfect trip to the line - to make it a 77-70 count with 1:03 left.
"We played a big game against the Gulf champions. We had a few challenges but we did great defensively," reflected Alhamidi, who was part of the Kazma team that played in last season's Final 8 in Qatar.
It wasn't all smooth-sailing for Qadsia, though, with Chris Crawford and Deshawndre Washington joining hands to string together a rally and pull Shabab Al Ahli to within a solitary point, 77-76, with 21.4 seconds to go.
But Lady Luck seemingly didn't want Alhamidi's big night to go to waste, with Abdullah Alsaeid serving as the instrument as he calmly sank his charities with 5.4 seconds to spare for the eventual scoreline.
Crawford tried to send the game into overtime by launching from deep but missed, and the WASL-Gulf League third-placers went on to complete the bounce-back after bowing to Tabiat in the Group B opener.
They improved to 1-1 following the victory and will now wait for the winner between the Iranian side (1-0) and Shabab Al Ahli (0-1) when the two meet on Thursday night to know whether or not they're advancing.
"We need to wait," offered Qadsia head coach Javier Munoz. "We've done our job by winning, and we will watch what's going to happen between Tabiat and the other team. I'm very happy to stay here in this tournament."
Sek Henry backed up Alhamidi with 17 points behind a 5-of-9 clip from three-point distance, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in a turnover-less performance that netted the lefty guard an efficiency of 23.
Alsaeid, Chinemelu Elonu, and Saleh Abrahim added at least 7 points in the win that saw Qadsia nail 14 treys, with the other 5 of which coming from Alhamidi - with a 62.5-percent accuracy from him as well.
Crawford, on the other hand, led Shabab Al Ahli with 18 points. Washington supplied 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Qais Alshabebi and Jamel Hagins chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively.
FIBA