Players fighting for the ball.

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 11: Al-Qadsiya suffered its first loss in the West Asia Basketball Super League (WASL) Championship for the Gulf region, falling 88-81 to the host team, Al-Arabi of Qatar at Al-Gharafa Club Hall in Doha.

Al-Arabi topped Group 2 with 5 points, ahead of Al-Qadsiya, which placed second. Manama of Bahrain secured third place after defeating Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad 67-66.

The "Yellow" team led the game in the first quarter (25-19) and maintained a slim advantage at halftime (47-43). However, Al-Arabi made a strong comeback, scoring 24 points in the third quarter to tie the game at 67-all by its conclusion.

The turning point came in the final quarter when Al-Qadsiya’s pivot player, Shinmelu Elono, suffered an ankle injury and was forced to leave the court. This allowed Al-Arabi to dominate, scoring 21 points in the quarter, enough to secure the win. In contrast, Al-Qadsiya managed just 14 points in the final stretch.

Under the tournament's system, the leader of each group advances directly to the semi-finals, while the second and third-place teams will play in play-off matches to determine the remaining qualifiers

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times staff