ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Sagesse SC booked a second trip to the FIBA WASL Final after keeping their mastery of Kuwait Club, 87-74, in the 2026 Semi-Finals, Saturday night at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex.
The Green Castle turned it around in the second chapter, pulled away wide in the third, and then finished strongly to once again top a team they had previously beaten in the exact same stage during the 2024 tilt in Qatar.
And just like what happened in Doha, they're marching on to the Big Dance to have another waltz with Al Riyadi for the crown, standing in the way of a team gunning for a historic 'three-peat' in the pan-regional contest.
It will also be a rematch of the 2025-26 Lebanese Basketball Championship Finals, with Sagesse hoping to flip the script in their favor this time around after bowing in the best-of-7 series that went the distance.
"Kuwait came into the game ready but Sagesse never backed down. We showed real fight - we fought for every ball, we fought for every possession. We deserve to be here," offered head coach Joe Ghattas.
AJ English led Sagesse with 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in a solid return after missing the last game due to medical reasons. Deshawndre Washington finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Jamal Jones, despite incurring 3 fouls barely 8 minutes into the game, supplied 18 points as the reinforcements kept things in control after the team lost Youssef Khayat to an ankle injury during the third canto.
*This article will be updated.