DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - Al Arabi SC gutted out an 89-83 victory to complete their ouster of Shabab Al Ahli and barge into the FIBA WASL-Gulf League Semi-Finals for the first time, Wednesday night.
Mosti Rashed and Abdulrahman Saad came through with the toughest of blows down the stretch to help the Red Devils come from behind and send the opposition's reign as champs of the Sub-Zone League crumbling.
Rashed knocked down the go-ahead trifecta against two defenders, then came Saad with an unmolested layup off a defensive lapse by their foes to give themselves the 87-83 lead with exactly 30 seconds left to play.
A missed triple by Bryon Allen on the other end, and splits by Saad inside the final 13.5 seconds of the match proved to be enough for the Qatari Basketball League champions to complete the reverse sweep.
It could be recalled that the crew lost in Game 1 of the Qualification to Semi-Finals in the same venue but would go on to win the next two, becoming the latest after Manama who did it just last season versus Al Ahli.
Following the rousing series comeback, Al Arabi will soon turn all their attention to a familiar adversary in Al Ula Club of Saudi Arabia, whom they will be battling in a best-of-3 Semi-Finals affair that begins March.
"This is our second participation in WASL and last year was basically for gaining experience. This year, we played to our abilities, and we managed to reach the Semi-Finals," reflected head coach Hatem Mamlouk.
"Now, we think our team is capable of going further than this," the seasoned mentor added.
Saad top-scored in the triumph with 25 points alongside 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in 33 minutes of play, netting himself an efficiency of 25 on the way to bagging home Capelli Sport Player of the Game honors.
Elmedin Kikanovic supplied 21 points. Rashed produced 18 points, spiked by 4 treys, while veteran playmaker Dee Bost came through with a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds, with 4 assists and 4 steals.
It was these same players which put together the strong fourth-quarter attack, which ultimately enabled Al Arabi to turn things around in their favor for good after finding themselves trailing by as many as 13 points.
Wasted by the heartbreaking loss, meanwhile, was the all-out effort of Deshawndre Washington, who finished with 40 points and 11 rebounds in 40 minutes as he tried to keep their title defense bid alive but fell short.
Allen made 12 points while Qais Alshabebi and Djordje Gagic added 10 apiece for the UAE League Basketball powerhouse, who got eliminated from the Qualification to Semi-Finals for the second time.
They also became the second team to bow out of the said stage as the WASL-Gulf League titlists after Kuwait Club, whose 'three-peat' hopes got crushed after being swept by eventual runners-up Ittihad Club last season.
"It's a heartbreaking moment," lamented Washington while trying to hold back tears. "Of course, we want to win again. We're never coming into anything wanting to lose; nobody ever wants to lose on purpose."
"Everybody is always trying to do what they can to win. Just not being able to win, and not being able to go to the next round, it really hurts ... we all have to regroup, and try to do our best," he closed.
FIBA