ALEPPO (Syria) - Karrar Hamzah wrote history right in the very first game of Al Naft in the FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) Season 2 on Thursday night.

The two-way specialist broke the league's all-time single-game steals record by collecting 8 during their meeting against Al-Ittihad Ahli at the packed Al Hamadaniyeh Stadium.

He's two steals clear of the previous mark (6), which was set by four players back in the inaugurals: Yousiff Borhamah, Freddy Ibrahim, Farid Aslani, and Marcus George-Hunt.

Hamzah surpassed the record when he got steal no. 7 at the 3:43 mark of the third.

But surely, it would have been much better had such a historic night came along with a victory. The Iraqi champions' comeback fell short and they lost by way of a 79-72 decision.

"We made some mistakes," lamented Hamzah, who also had 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a block, moments after the clash between West Asia League-Group A teams.

Needless to say, it was a rough start to the season for an Al Naft side that's still reeling from the departure of some players, led of course by Season 1's best scorer, Edgar Sosa.

It surely won't be easy for this present batch to replace the decorated guard and what he brings to the table, but Hamzah is confident with the pieces that they have right now.

"We lost some players this year but we can fill the gap and play as hard as we can," he said, as the team still has plenty of holdovers from the inaugurals, like Antwaine Wiggins.

Now, it's on to the next one for Hamzah and Co. after the stinging loss. Al Naft will resume its campaign domestically before facing Sagesse on November 30.

"We will try to make a quick recovery," he said.

FIBA