MEDINA (Saudi Arabia) - Ittihad Club took the solo lead in Group A of the 2025-26 FIBA WASL-Gulf League following an 85-82 victory over Shabab Al Ahli at the Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Hall, Monday night.
The Tigers turned it up in the fourth quarter with Jarell Eddie taking the lead before escaping with the narrow win en route to repeating against the same team that swept them in last season's Sub-Zone League Final.
It could be recalled that the reigning Saudi Basketball League champions had already beaten their counterparts from Dubai in the season opener and so it couldn't get any sweeter to have done it again - this time at home.
And by sweeping their Group Phase series, Ittihad have now won their third game in four outings, getting themselves back on track as well after their bid of going 3-0 got foiled by Muharraq the last time out.
"My players showed character, and they put effort into winning this very important game for us," offered head coach Slobodan Subotic.
Eddie starred in the triumph with a game-high 27 points, 11 of which he made in the deciding period alone as he caught fire from deep and went on to catalyze their strong finish to upend the reigning Gulf champions.
He knocked down three of his seven triples in the said chapter, with the last one pushing their lead to 79-70 with 5:24 remaining. The former NBA forward shot 9-of-15 from the floor as he played all 40 minutes.
Erick Neal hardly rested as well and finished with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 13 assists, once again hitting double digits in dimes just like what they did in their first meeting where he broke the WASL record with 17.
Neal was also responsible in giving Ittihad the lead for good when he opened the fourth with a three, which Eddie followed up with an outside shot of his to push the gap to 68-65 as the momentum slowly shifted their way.
Mike Watkins chipped in 11 points and 9 rebounds for the Tigers, who will try to repeat against Kuwaiti's very own Kazma on January 5 at home as well in an attempt to keep their hold of the Group A top spot firmly.
Put to naught by the loss, on the other hand, was yet another triple-double performance by Deshawndre Washington for Shabab Al Ahli as he finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds, and 15 assists.
He did try to save his crew again when he nailed one from deep to cut the margin to 83-80 with 21.1 seconds left, but could only do so much as Abdulmalik Ashoor kept them at bay with a perfect trip to the foul line.
Qais Alshabebi also had 19 points, alongside 6 rebounds. Assane Boye made 15 points and 8 rebounds while Dikembe Dixson and Omar Alameri added 12 each in the loss that dropped them to no. 2 with a 2-2 record.
Up next for Shabab Al Ahli are Muharraq on January 12 at the BBA Arena in Bahrain, hoping of course to beat the Red Wolves once more after escaping with an 89-87 decision in the bag in their previous duel.
FIBA