Al Naft out to extend streak vs Gorgan; Al Riyadi look to rebound
BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Al Naft will try to stretch their unbeaten run to 3 against Gorgan in awaited clash, while Al Riyadi will look to redeem themselves as WASL-West Asia continues.
BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Al Naft will look to start the New Year by keeping their winning ways as WASL-West Asia League action resumes on Wednesday.
Group A
| GAMES | STREAK | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | Last 5 | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 | Beirut Club | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100 | 160 | 114 | 46 | 80 | 57 | 4 | |
| 2 | ZobAhan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50.0 | 131 | 127 | 4 | 65.5 | 63.5 | 3 | |
| 3 | Orthodox Amman | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50.0 | 117 | 127 | -10 | 58.5 | 63.5 | 3 | |
| 4 | Al-Ittihad Ahli | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 94 | 134 | -40 | 47 | 67 | 2 | |
Group B
| GAMES | STREAK | GAME POINTS | POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | P | W | L | % | Last 5 | For | Agt | +/- | FA | AA | |
| 1 | Al Naft | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100 | 189 | 153 | 36 | 94.5 | 76.5 | 4 | |
| 2 | Al Riyadi | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50.0 | 168 | 174 | -6 | 84 | 87 | 3 | |
| 3 | Gorgan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50.0 | 157 | 159 | -2 | 78.5 | 79.5 | 3 | |
| 4 | Alkaramah | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 144 | 172 | -28 | 72 | 86 | 2 | |
4 January 2023
Gorgan vs Al Naft - 16:30 GMT+3:30 - Tehran, Azadi Basketball Hall
5 January 2023
Alkaramah vs Al Riyadi - 18:00 GMT+2 - Damascus, Al Fayhaa Stadium
The ball club from Iraq has been nothing short of impressive 2 games into the season, beginning with a 23-point conquest of Alkaramah on the road before following it up with a 100-87 home win over Al Riyadi just last week.
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Surely, chalking up win no. 3 is on top of their list, but they will have to do so against a Gorgan side out to build a winning streak as well.
The Iranian side picked themselves up from that road loss to Al Riyadi on opening week by nipping Alkaramah, and will aim to keep the momentum going by foiling their upcoming foes' bid of scoring wins against the rest of the group.
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Al Riyadi and Alkaramah, meanwhile, will square off against one another on Thursday night in Damascus, marking another road trip for the former.
The Lebanese squad are out to rebound from the deflating loss to Al Naft, but will have to go through, first and foremost, a team hungry for their first win.
KEY MATCHUP
The Al Naft-Gorgan clash will pit 2 of the WASL-West Asia's elite scorers in Edgar Sosa and Behnam Yakhchali, who actually share some history together.
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Sosa remains West Asia's top scorer with 35.5 points on 50-percent shooting from the field, and is also the lead assist man with 8.5 dimes to his name.
Yakhchali, on the other hand, is his team's best bucket-getter and in the Top 10 as well with 20.0 a game, highlighted by a 26-point showing versus Al Riyadi.
The two actually became teammates a few years ago and won a title with Petrochimi in the Iranian league, making their match a reunion of sorts.
FIBA