BEIRUT (Lebanon) - The FIBA Regional Office-Asia on Thursday, February 19, has confirmed the pairings and schedule of the Gulf League Semi-Finals of the 2025-26 FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL).
The four-team cast was completed on Tuesday, February 17, after Al Arabi SC ousted erstwhile Sub-Zone League titlists Shabab Al Ahli, 89-83, in the deciding Game 3 of their Qualification to Semi-Finals in Dubai.
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The Semi-Finals will tip off on March 9 beginning with Ittihad Club and Kuwait Club in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in a rematch of last season's Qualification to Semi-Finals series, in which the former swept the latter, 2-0.
Ittihad were the first to reach the Semi-Finals this time after finishing atop Group A with a 5-1 record, and Kuwait Club would set up the meeting following a two-game sweep of Muharraq Club in the play-in round.
Kuwait Club are hoping to earn a measure of payback in the upcoming clash after Ittihad denied their bid of winning the WASL-Gulf League for a third consecutive time in a tough end to a challenging campaign.
Al Ula Club and Al Arabi, on the other hand, will start their series on March 10 in Medina, Saudi Arabia, looking to keep their mastery of the team they actually beat twice in as many meetings back in the Group Phase.
A newcomer in the pan-regional competition, Al Ula were the second team to book a Semi-Finals ticket outright after clinching the top spot in Group B following a 91-79 win against, coincidentally, Al Arabi as well.
But they will be taking on a team with renewed confidence as they took down no less than Shabab Al Ahli with a reverse sweep, earning themselves a breakthrough Semi-Finals appearance after exiting early last season.
With that result, a new WASL-Gulf League champion will be crowned for a second straight time.
The Final is scheduled for an April 14 tip-off, to be preceded by the Third-Place Game - featuring the losing sides from the Semi-Finals - on April 13. Save for the latter, all Final Phase series will be played in a best-of-3 format.
Teams finishing at fourth place in the WASL-Gulf League and in the WASL-West Asia League, meanwhile, will square off in a knockout game on April 22 for a ticket to the culminating Final 8 2026.
FIBA