BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Going deeper into the tournament shall be the goal this time as Ittihad Club aim for redemption in another go-around in the upcoming FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) Final 8 2026.
Tournament history
It will be the Tigers' second straight appearance in the pan-regional competition's culminating showpiece, bringing with them the lessons learned from last year's campaign in which they fell short of advancing.
They went just 1-2 in Group A, ultimately finishing at 3rd in the pool as Al Riyadi and Sagesse SC took the top 2 spots to march into the Semi-Finals, with the former eventually completing the 'back-to-back' feat.
Nonetheless, it was a solid run for Ittihad overall, as nobody expected them to go that far.
Because earlier in the 2024-25 season, there were hardly any Final 8 talks surrounding the team. They only won twice in the WASL-Gulf League Group Phase, just good enough to reach the Qualification to Semi-Finals.
However, once the Final Phase began, Ittihad seemingly had a switch and flipped it on. They ended Kuwait Club's 'three-peat' bid by beating them in the Semi-Finals' best-of-3 play-in to advance, and did so via sweep.
After that, they came from behind and eliminated Al Qadsia SC in the Semi-Finals to reach the Big Dance, where they ultimately bowed to league pioneers Shabab Al Ahli, marking the end of their Cinderella run.
Sub-Zone League run
While pulling off that big of a turnaround, Ittihad did not forget about their responsibilities at home. They conquered the 2024-25 Saudi Basketball League, which also meant booking a return trip to WASL.
But unlike last season, they started strong in the 2025-26 festivities.
The crew almost went perfect in the Group Phase, winning 5 of their 6 matches to clinch the no. 1 spot in Group A which, according to the WASL competition system, merits an automatic trip to the Semi-Finals.
Ittihad opened the new season with a vengeful win over Shabab Al Ahli in Dubai and then followed it up with a more convincing win over Kazma, before stumbling against Muharraq Club to end a 3-game road trip.
That, though, would prove to be their last loss in the Group Phase as they rolled past the same 3 opponents to conclude the said stage with a fiery 3-game winning streak, in the process clinching the top seed.
It remains to be seen, though, how this batch would have fared in WASL-Gulf had the league not been paused due to the situation in the region, which compelled FIBA to change things up and head straight to the Final 8.
Players to watch
But at least, they're back competing for the biggest prize of 'em all, although Ittihad will be rolling with a team filled with fresh faces as the ones that helped them to that solid 5-1 start are no longer around.
They have replaced Slobodan Subotic as their head coach with Greek mentor Stratos Koukoulekidis, the former shot-caller of Al Ula. The team has brought in a new stable of reinforcements to bolster their bid, too.
In fact, they've signed a quartet of them, bannered by former NBA big man Jeff Withey, who previously played for Indonesian Basketball League outfit Pelita Jaya during the BCL Asia-East inaugurals back in 2025.
Ittihad have also signed veteran internationalist Khalid Abdel Gabar, who's making his WASL comeback after suiting up for Al Hilal during the 2022-23 season - the league's first-ever season.
Amorie Archibald and Marvin Clark round out the list of imports they inked recently, which shall fortify a team featuring local stars such as Mathna Almarwani, Nasser Alabsi, and Osama Albargawi, to name some.
FIBA