ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Al Wahda SC rallied from behind to beat BC Astana, 99-89, for a strong windup to their 2025-26 FIBA WASL-West Asia League campaign, Friday night at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex.
The Syrian side overhauled an 18-point deficit with a massive second-half turnaround as they refused to go down without a fight in their final outing of the season, eventually bagging the morale-boosting victory.
It was, in fact, a commendable conclusion for the ball club despite falling short in advancing to the Semi-Finals as they won two of their final three games of the tournament, this finishing with a 2-6 win-loss record.
"I really appreciate them tonight," lauded head coach Petar Aleksic proudly of his charges. "They played really competitively, even if this game was [a non-bearing one]. But it was very important for this group."
"This is a special group of people. I'm very happy that we ended up with a win. And also, this team is now looking like a great competitive team ... I'm very happy that they are accepting what I want," he added.
We know how good we can be.
Falando Jones starred in the comeback with a game-high 30 points, half of which he made in the fourth quarter alone as he powered the decisive 18-6 assault that turned a 74-all knot to a 92-80 lead with 5:25 to go.
Jones, all in all, shot 10-of-17 from the field - including a near-perfect clip from deep by knocking down 4 of his 5 triples - and also collected 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals to take Capelli Player of the Game honors.
"It gives us confidence moving forward, from top to bottom," Jones said on finishing with a win. "We know how good we can be. Still a lot of steps we have to take, and a lot of things that we have to clean up also."
James Justice, Jr. was as crucial in the triumph with 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists as his outside sniping in the third canto helped set up their fightback attempt before Jones completely took over afterward.
Domagoj Proleta supplied 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Bilal Atli (9 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists) plus the young tandem of Yousef Abdullah and Maiar Albabisi came through with significant contributions.
Astana, on the other hand, were led by Eric Day with 23 points in the loss, although it hardly affected the Kazakhstan representatives as they're already assured of the no. 2 spot entering the Semi-Finals next month.
Ruslan Aitkali had 17 points. Askar Maydekin made 15 while Alexandr Zhigulin added 12 in the defeat, which should still sting a bit as it put to naught the stupendous first-half showing they unleashed to lead big at the break.
Coach Ramunas Crvika's ward already nailed 13 treys in the game's first 24 minutes and shot 65.7-percent from the field thanks to their 20 assists - reasons why they were able to post a 55-37 lead during the second.
Al Wahda, however, came up with adjustments especially on the defensive end coming off the intermission, while Astana found no countermeasure whatsoever, ultimately leading to their third loss of the season.
The inaugural WASL bronze medalists will head into the Semi-Finals with a 5-3 card.
FIBA