Al Shorta rally from double-digit deficit to seal Semi-Finals seat over Al Ittihad Ahli

BAGHDAD (Iraq) - Al Shorta complete a come-from-behind rally to defeat Al Ittihad Ahli 76-70 and advance to the Semi-Finals of the West Asia Super League (WASL) - West Asia.

The Iraqi club had lost the previous game to their Syrian counterparts, forcing this third and decisive game and fell behind early on by as much as 11 points. This sparked some concern among the Al Shorta fans at the Al Shaeb Hall, but the home team were eventually able to turn the tide.

Game heroes: Unique McClean made up for his lackluster debut of 3 points earlier in the series, erupting for 28 points in this contest to lead all players. He'd also record 5 assists to finish with 27 EFF.

Ali Ismael continues to have a strong season for Shorta, putting up his second double-double of the season - both in this crucial series - with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

The result puts an end to the season for breakout star Mohamed Bilal Atli who was voted the STEP AHEAD Player of the Game. He also had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds while AJ John led Al Ittihad Ahli with 24 points.

Turning point: Al Shorta had already erased the double-digit gap by the third quarter of the game. It was their 12 unanswered points to end the third quarter that gave them the momentum to outlast an Al Ittihad Ahli team that never backs down until the final seconds of the game.

Stats don't lie: In a game as tight as this one where buckets are hard to come by, possessions are the most valuable currency. And Al Ittihad Ahli didn't manage that as well as Al Shorta did, turning the ball over 19 times comparing to forcing 10 out of the home team.

They said: "We had a good first half, second half we were weak mentally. We made many bad decisions on offense, our problem was the offense. 70 points my team can score and last games we scored 80 points, 85 points. We made many, many bad choices. As I told you, we were weak mentally in the second half and we lost this game." - Safouane Ferjani, Al Ittihad Ahli head coach

"First off, congrats to Al Shorta they earned their victory today. I think, as coach said, we had a solid first half and instead of carrying that momentum over, we came into the second half really flat. We didn't take care of the ball took a lot of quick shots and allowed our lack of execution to fuel their offense. They thrive in the transition game and they got a lot of opportunities to do that in the second half by our mistakes, by our quick shots, by our turnovers and they just wanted it more in the second half. They played much harder than us and they deserved to win that game by how they played and how we played in the second half... For me, I joined the team just a few weeks ago, this series is my first WASL experience in these three games.. but you said it was an up-and-down season and that was reflected in our lack of consistency." - AJ John, Al Ittihad Ahli

"I'd like to congratulate my players, they fought like lions. After losing that game in Aleppo, we didn't have Unique McClean with us… and in these decisive games, all of the teams were under pressure. In the second half, we adjusted and we stepped it up on defense and I think our effort, the team effort on defense, was brilliant. I'm satisfied. On the other end, I feel a bit sorry because last year I was coaching Al Ittihad Ahli and back in 2004-05, so I loved the city, I loved the people, I loved the players, and I really respected [them] and I love Syria also." - Ghassan Sarkis, Al Shorta head coach 

"I think it was a hardfought game today. We knew the stakes, we knew we needed to come in and win the game. It was either win or go home and I think the team responded. we had a couple of losses in our league recently and we wanted to come out and be aggressive. We had 10 turnovers to their 19 which was great. We were trying to control the pace, really run our plays and play with patience and I think we did a great job today... [A key factor to the comeback was] just playing hard! Making sure we stayed poised and making sure that we ran our plays and like I said not putting our heads down and [instead] thinking next play, next play. Like I said, we all knew the stakes. So we just played hard and attacked the rim, got open shots. 77 on this Syria team is very tough, I think we did a very great job. I'm excited for the guys and the organization and we're doing a great job." - Unique McClean, Al Shorta

FIBA

Feels great [to be in the Semi-Finals]. This is my first time playing in WASL and I'm looking forward to playing in the Semi-Finals and doing something big. I'm sure this is something great for the league and the team and for everyone else and the fans.