Players fighting for the ball.

KUWAIT CITY, May 21: Sulaibikhat basketball team booked their place in the semi-finals of the 2024-2025 Federation Cup after defeating Al-Nasr 121-101 in a high-scoring preliminary round match held at the Federation Hall in the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Complex in Sabah Al-Salem.

Sulaibikhat will now await the winner of the upcoming quarter-final clash between Al-Arabi and Al-Qadisiya, scheduled for tomorrow (Friday).

In another preliminary round matchup, Al-Arabi cruised past Al-Tadamon with a 107-89 victory. The standout performer of the game was Ibrahim Al-Shammari, who delivered a stellar performance with 45 points and 11 rebounds.

Back to the Sulaibikhat vs. Al-Nasr showdown—featuring the league's fifth- and sixth-placed teams—the "Reds" (Sulaibikhat) dominated throughout, capitalizing on the absence of Al-Nasr's Macedonian head coach Jordanko Davidbakov, who was replaced by local coach Salem Al-Daoud.

Sulaibikhat set the tone early, jumping to a 32-19 lead in the first quarter and maintaining a 58-48 advantage by halftime. The absence of Al-Nasr's American center, Ibrahima Thomas, was especially evident in the second half, as Sulaibikhat controlled the paint and extended their lead to 85-72 at the end of the third quarter. In the final period, they pulled away further, closing out the game with a commanding 20-point margin.

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff