In what’s growing to be a major rivalry in the Fiba West Asia Super League (WASL), Kuwait Club and Manama will duke it out for the Gulf League title again.
The rematch materialised after Kuwait Club swept Kazma 122-79 in a lopsided Game 2 of the semi-finals last night at the Shaikh Saad Alabdullah Sport Hall Complex.
It would be another meeting between two of the league’s perennial contenders, with the both of them having a score to settle after what happened during the inaugurals.
Looking back, Kuwait Club won the Gulf League crown by sweeping Manama, but failed to win the ultimate prize when they lost to the Bahraini crew in the Fiba WASL Final.
Now, a tiebreaker of sorts will be taking place in the upcoming best-of-3 title bout that also features the first two teams that have booked their tickets to the Fiba WASL Final 8.
Cady Lalanne bannered the rout with 20 points and 9 rebounds, together with 4 assists and a steal on his way to earning the Player of the Game honours.
Marcus Georges-Hunt produced 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists and netted a game-high efficiency of 23. Tony Carr made 16 points and 8 rebounds, with 5 assists.
Moh Hasan made 15 points, spiked by three triples, and 7 rebounds. His brother Hamad submitted 14-4-4 stat line, while Turki Alshemmari and Fahed Aldhafairi chipped in 12 points apiece as the two combined for 7 of the team’s 16 treys in the victory.
Kuwait Club jumped to a 16-6 start and that practically dictated how the game would go for the rest of the night. The crew finished the first half ahead by 15, and entered the final chapter holding a commanding 32-point advantage, 90-58.
They surpassed the century mark still with 6:17 to spare, 101-70, following a three-pointer by Aldhafairi off a Carr assist before cruising to the 43-point triumph.
Kuwait Club’s 122 points are now the second-most points scored by a team in the Gulf League, just eight shy of tying, nine from surpassing the 130 set by Manama in their conquest of Al Shamal back in the Group Phase last February 5.
Their dominant showing saw the team dish out 29 assists, tied for fourth-most in the Gulf League with Muharraq. They also reigned supreme in the boards, 58-39, against a team that badly missed the services of key cogs that included Abdulaziz Alhamidi.