Tadamoon player attempts to take the ball from Al Arabi player.

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 23: The Al-Arabi basketball team dominated Tadamoon with a 92-50 victory at the Federation Hall in Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Complex during the eighth round of the preliminary stage. In the same round, Al-Sulaibikhat secured a commanding 93-55 win against Yarmouk.

With this result, Al-Arabi’s tally rose to 9 points from 6 matches, while Al-Sulaibikhat improved to 10 points from 7 games. Meanwhile, Tadamoon and Yarmouk remain at 6 points each, suffering 6 consecutive defeats.

According to the tournament rules, the top four teams from the preliminary round will advance to the semi-finals, which follow a "best-of-three" playoff format. The first team to win two matches will progress to the final.

Kuwait Club, Qadsia, and Kazma have all but secured their spots in the semi-finals. Al-Nasr, with 10 points from 6 matches, is the frontrunner for the final qualification slot, facing competition from Al-Arabi, Al-Qurain, and Al-Sulaibikhat. However, Al-Nasr holds a key advantage, having defeated its direct competitors, putting it in a strong position to join the top three teams in the next round.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff