Pre-WASL Final 8 2023 Power Rankings
BEIRUT (Lebanon) - We now take a look at the teams coming in hot to the inaugural West Asia Super League (WASL) Final 8 through our Power Rankings.
BEIRUT (Lebanon) - The best of the best are all set to slug it out in the inaugural West Asia Super League (WASL) Final 8 in Dubai next week.
But who's coming in hot to the June 9-17 competitions?
Take a look at our Power Rankings, where we put in perspective where the competing ball clubs stand entering the regional league's pinnacle event.
Reminder: These are not the official rankings. Power Rankings are just here to reflect on a team's current form and not based entirely on their records in WASL, or in the other teams' cases, their records from their respective domestic leagues.
PRE-WASL FINAL 8 POWER RANKINGS |
| 8 | Chennai Heats | Chennai Heat only lost twice on the way to becoming the first Indian National Basketball League champions last January, but the fact that it's been months since the last time they played may show its effects come the Final 8. |
| 7 | Beirut Club | After punching the remaining Final 8 ticket via WASL-West Asia with a rout of ZobAhan, Beirut Club weren't able to keep the Lebanese league championship after bowing to eventual runners-up Dynamo in the Semis. |
| 6 | Manama | The well-known club couldn't complete their ascension after losing to Kuwait Club in the WASL-Gulf Final, but should remain dreaded as they're about to compete yet again for the Bahraini Premier League title. |
| 5 | Shabab Al Ahli - Dubai | The Emirati ball club did not have the kind of ending to their first WASL-Gulf campaign, but that hardly affected their confidence as they ruled the UAE National Basketball League just last month for their ninth title. |
| 4 | BC Astana | Last 6 May saw the widely-renowned team win the Kazakhstan National League title for the seventh consecutive time and 11th overall after sweeping Barsy Atyrau in the best-of-5 Finals, becoming the Central Asia representatives in the Final 8. |
| 3 | Shahrdary Gorgan | The WASL-West Asia runners-up were dominant on home soil once more, losing just once in the playoffs en route to winning the Iranian Super League crown just last 25 May to complete a three-peat. |
| 2 | Al Riyadi | Just weeks after ruling WASL-West Asia, Al Riyadi are coming into the Final 8 as Lebanese league champions following a gentleman's sweep (4-1) of Dynamo in the best-of-7 finale, successfully reclaiming the title they lost last year. |
| 1 | Kuwait Club | The only undefeated team in WASL, Kuwait Club further injected even more morale to themselves after conquering the Kuwaiti Premier League just this week. |
*Power rankings are entirely subjective based on recent events/results/announcements and are in no way true, accurate ranking systems. All comments are purely those of the author.
FIBA