Kuwait Club edges past Railways to face Hekmeh in WASL semifinals

Kuwait Club player dribbles the ball as his opponents defend.

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 1: Kuwait Club booked a place in the West Asia Basketball League (WASL) semifinals after edging India’s Indian Railways 106-101 in their final Group A game.

The victory sent Kuwait Club into the last four for the third time in the competition, with the team finishing second in Group A, five points behind Al Riyadi, who topped the group with six.

Indian Railways finished third, while Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad came fourth.

Kuwait Club will face Lebanese side Hekmeh tomorrow in the semifinal in Beirut. The other semifinal will feature Al Riyadi against the winner of the late clash between Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ula and Iran’s Gorgan.

Despite reaching the semifinals, Kuwait Club coach Dusan Stoijkov admitted he was unhappy with his team’s performance against India.

The semifinal appearance is the first of Stoijkov’s coaching career.

“Personally, qualifying is great, but I am even happier for my team and my club,” Stoijkov said. “It means a lot to us.”

By Khaled Al-Enezi 

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff