ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Three perennial contenders and a newcomer make up what should be an intriguing FIBA WASL Final 8 knockout Semi-Finals this Saturday, October 3, at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex.
Al Riyadi are keen on upping the ante in an attempt to complete a 'three-peat' in the pan-regional meet but so are Sagesse SC, Kuwait Club, and Al Ula Club - all of whom are hoping to end their reign of dominance.
'Three-peat' bid
Action begins at 17:45 local time, with the Yellow Castle beginning their bid for history against the Arabian Leopards in their first-ever meeting in this competition, although it offers interesting layers.
One of which is the fact that they both utilized the same tandem to reach success in Wael Arakji and Thon Maker, former WASL MVPs which powered the Lebanese powerhouse to a 'back-to-back' in the last 2 seasons.
But ahead of the 2025-26 season, they left and signed with Al Ula in easily one of the biggest signings that the rising ball club pulled off, motivated to make a name for themselves particularly in this league.
They did just that, clinching the top seed in Group B of the WASL-Gulf League to eventually reach the Final 8, where they'd make history by becoming the first Saudi Arabian team to qualify for the Semi-Finals.
Arakji and Maker signing with Al Ula made fans and observers alike wonder how Riyadi would fare, but they managed just fine. They still finished the WASL-West Asia League as its best team with a 6-2 record.
Currently, they're 3-0 in the Final 8, extending their winning streak in the league's culminating event to 13 which dates back to the 2024 edition in Qatar, where they swept their way toward the ultimate prize.
Surely, they'd want to extend it to 14 on Saturday to move one step closer to the 'three-peat,' although Coach Ahmad Farran & Co. are aware that it won't be easy knowing how tough their upcoming foes could be.
The Arabian Leopards sent 2024 3rd-placers Shahrdari Gorgan home to complete the Semi-Finals picture in another proof of how competitive this new-look team remains even without the aforementioned duo.
Rematch
While that pairing could be the start of a rivalry, the other would be another meeting between old foes as the Green Castle and the Brigadiers duke it out at 20:45 local time - two years after they first battled.
These two proud ball clubs faced each other during the 2024 Semi-Finals, with Sagesse coming out on top albeit narrowly, 76-72, behind reinforcements Nick Rakocevic and eventual Al Ula guard Jonathan Gibson.
Eventually, they'd settle for a runner-up finish behind Arakji and Riyadi after losing in an overtime classic in the Final. Now, though, an opportunity to author the redemption story they've been hoping for lies ahead.
And that starts against a familiar opponent in Kuwait Club, a team that's also keen on finishing their own story after suffering a heartbreaker during the Final 8 inaugurals back in 2023 in the city of Dubai.
After going unbeaten during the 2022-23 WASL-Gulf League, the Kuwaitis eyed a golden double, only to get foiled by Manama - the very same team they beat to rule to the Sub-Zone League - in the title bout.
They haven't returned to the Last Dance and so they're hoping that 2026 would be the time they'd break what's becoming a long wait. But standing in their way is the same team that dashed their hopes two years ago.
"We have faced Kuwait before but with different foreigners, and a different squad. Now, it's going to be a different game - every game is different," offered Karim Ezzedine, who was part of Sagesse's 2024 batch.
The FIBA WASL Final 8 2026 Semi-Finals is set this Saturday, October 3, at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex. For more news and updates, check the league's official website and social media channels.
FIBA