Kuwait Club player drives to the hoop.

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 5: Kuwait Club will take on Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ula tonight at 8:00 p.m. at Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Hall in Medina, in Round 5 of Group B of the West Asian Basketball League (Gulf Zone).

The “White” team seeks to remain at the top of the group with seven points, despite the challenge posed by Al-Ula, who has six points and a star-studded lineup. In the first leg, Kuwait Club, the Arab champion, narrowly defeated Al-Ula 113-108, in a match that confirmed both sides as strong contenders for the title.

Kuwait Club enters the match fully prepared under Serbian coach Dušan Stojkov, relying on a balanced squad of local and foreign talents, including brothers Hamad and Mohammed Adnan, Alexander Al-Ghais, Imran Jawhar, Turki Hamoud, Sahoo Al-Sahoo, Ali Al-Haddhood, and captain Fahad Al-Dhafiri, alongside foreign players Charlie Moore, fellow Serbian Jamal Jones, and Frenchman Geoffrey Lauvergne.

Al-Ula, guided by Greek coach Stratius Kokolikidz, knows a victory could decide the group’s top spot and secure a strong chance for the semifinals. Key players for Al-Ula include Australian Thon Mecker, Lebanese Wael Arakji, American Jonathan Gibson, as well as Mohammed Al-Swailem, Mohammed Al-Hosawi, Abdulaziz Al-Alawi, Ahmed Al-Mukhtar, Mohammed Al-Saqr, Mohammed Saleh, and Ahmed Al-Jizani.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff