2022–23 FIBA West Asia Super League

2022–23 FIBA WASL season
LeagueFIBA West Asia Super League
SportBasketball
Duration19 December 2022 – 17 June 2023
Number of teams18
Gulf League
Season champions Kuwait Club (1st title)
  Runners-up Manama
West Asia League
Season champions Al Riyadi Beirut (1st title)
  Runners-up Shahrdari Gorgan
Final Eight
VenueSheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Champions Manama (1st title)
  Runners-up Kuwait Club

The 2022–23 FIBA West Asia Super League was the inaugural season of the West Asia Super League (WASL), organised by FIBA Asia. The league featured eighteen teams.[1] The season began on 19 December 2022 and finished on 17 June 2023 with the final game of the Final Eight, which was hosted in Dubai.

The league was split in two subdivisions, the West Asia League and the Gulf League, with both of them having a finals to determine the subdivision winners.

Manama won the inaugural title after defeating Kuwait Club in the championship game. Following their win, Manama was invited for the 2023 FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

Format

The season exists out of 18 teams. Eight teams in the Western Asia region compete in home and away games for the sub-zonal title, while eight teams in the Gulf region do the same. The top three teams from each division advance to the Final round. There they are joined by the champions of the Kazakhstan Basketball Championship and the invited Indian representative. The two teams that advance to the championship game qualify for the 2023 FIBA Asia Champions Cup.[2]

Teams

The Chennai Heat as the Indian National Basketball League champions, were supposed to play in the Final 8, but withdrew.[3]

Final 8
Astana (1st) Chennai Heat (1st)
Group phase
West Asia Gulf
Beirut Club (1st) Al Ittihad Aleppo (1st) Al Hilal (1st) Al Sadd (1st)
Al Riyadi (2nd) Al Karamah (2nd) Al Nassr (2nd) Shabab Al Ahli (1st)
Shahrdari Gorgan (1st) Orthodox Amman (1st)[a] Kuwait (1st) Al Bashaer (1st)
Zob Ahan Isfahan (2nd) Al Naft (1st) Kazma (2nd) Manama (1st)

Notes:

  1. ^ On December 15, 2022, FIBA announced that Jordanian Premier League runners-up Orthodox Amman were to replace champions Orthodox Ramallah as the representative of Jordan.[4]

Draw

The draw was held on 28 October in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.[5]

West Asia League

The West Asia League began on 21 December 2022 and ended on 17 May 2023.

Group phase

Group A

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification BEI ZAI ORT ITT
1 Beirut Club 4 3 1 321 269 +52 7 Advance to semi-finals 73–56 89–76 Canc.
2 Zob Ahan Isfahan 4 2 2 306 312 −6 6 Advance to semi-finals qualifiers 79–72 89–81 Canc.
3 Orthodox Amman 4 1 3 301 347 −46 5 58–87 86–82 Canc.
4 Al Ittihad Aleppo[a] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew Canc. Canc. Canc.
Source: FIBA WASL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Al Ittihad Aleppo has forfeited all their games due to withdrawal from the tournament as a result of the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake.[6]

Group B

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification SHA RIY ALN KAR
1 Shahrdari Gorgan 4 3 1 360 303 +57 7 Advance to semi-finals 75–62 110–69 Canc.
2 Al Riyadi Beirut 4 2 2 337 347 −10 6 Advance to semi-finals qualifiers 81–74 107–98 Canc.
3 Al Naft 4 1 3 358 405 −47 5 91–101 100–87 Canc.
4 Al Karamah[a] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew Canc. Canc. Canc.
Source: FIBA WASL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Al Karamah has forfeited all their games due to withdrawal from the tournament as a result of the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake.[7]

Final phase

Gulf League

The Gulf League began on 19 December 2022 and ended on 15 May 2023 with the last game of the finals.

Group phase

Group A

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification HIL SAA KAZ BAS
1 Al Hilal 6 5 1 528 428 +100 11 Advance to semi-finals 81–72 96–92 86–54
2 Shabab Al Ahli 6 4 2 487 465 +22 10 Advance to semi-finals qualifiers 75–70 91–86 92–61
3 Kazma 6 3 3 537 516 +21 9 87–92 98–86 84–77
4 Al Bashaer 6 0 6 383 526 −143 6 48–103 69–71 74–90
Source: FIBA Gulf
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.

Group B

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification KUW MAN NAS SAD
1 Kuwait Club 6 6 0 597 496 +101 12 Advance to semi-finals 106–78 106–83 99–93
2 Manama Club 6 4 2 543 523 +20 10 Advance to semi-finals qualifiers 88–91 105–74 98–86
3 Al Nassr Riyadh 6 1 5 462 549 −87 7[a] 70–101 72–75 77–78
4 Al Sadd 6 1 5 519 553 −34 7[a] 84–94 94–99 84–86
Source: FIBA Gulf
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head on point differential: Al Nassr Riyadh 163–162 Al Sadd.

Final phase

Final Eight

In the Final Eight, the top three teams from the West Asia and the Gulf League were joined by the proposed teams from South and Central Asia (India and Kazakhstan). On 23 May FIBA announced that the Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, would host the inaugural Final Eight.[8]

The final stage began on 9 June and finished on 17 June with the WASL championship game.[8]

Group A

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Al Riyadi 2 2 0 218 175 +43 4 Advance to semifinals
2 Manama 2 1 1 170 187 −17 3
3 Beirut Club 2 0 2 166 192 −26 2
4 Chennai Heat 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew
Source: FIBA
10 June
18:45
Al Riyadi 112–84 Manama
Scoring by quarter: 21–24, 34–15, 24–21, 33–24
Pts: Reath 22
Rebs: Gyokchyan, Murphy 5
Asts: Saoud 9
Pts: Rashed 21
Rebs: Pointer 13
Asts: Pointer 5
Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai
Attendance: 2,000
Referees: Takaki Kato (JPN), Yevgeniy Mikheyev (KAZ), Park Kyoungjin (KOR)
12 June
21:45
Beirut Club 91–106 Al Riyadi
Scoring by quarter: 16–20, 27–22, 17–21, 31–25
Pts: Jackson 23
Rebs: Crawford 7
Asts: Crawford 7
Pts: Reath, Murphy 24
Rebs: Reath 11
Asts: Saoud 10
Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai
Attendance: 654
Referees: Mohammad Alamiri (KUW), Ahmed Al-Bulushi(OMA), Mohammad Doost (IRI)
14 June
19:00
Manama 86–75 Beirut Club
Scoring by quarter: 22–18, 28–20, 16–20, 20–17
Pts: Rashed 16
Rebs: Pointer 8
Asts: Rashed 5
Pts: Rustom 15
Rebs: Crawford 7
Asts: Jackson 4
Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai
Attendance: 143
Referees: Takaki Kato (JPN), Yevgeniy Mikheyev (KAZ), Park Kyoungjin (KOR)

Group B

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Astana 3 3 0 252 226 +26 6 Advance to semifinals
2 Kuwait Club 3 2 1 242 230 +12 5
3 Shahrdari Gorgan 3 1 2 251 257 −6 4
4 Shabab Al Ahli 3 0 3 208 240 −32 3
Source: FIBA
9 June
19:00
Astana 80–73 Shabab Al Ahli
Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 28–20, 12–17, 19–20
Pts: Anderson 19
Rebs: Marchuk 5
Asts: Johnson 7
Pts: Pustovyi 21
Rebs: Pustovyi 14
Asts: Miller Jr., Alajmani 5
Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai
Attendance: 100
Referees: Ahmed Ali Yaseen Al-Shuwali (IRQ), Lee Kyounghwan (KOR), Saif Al-Dossari (QAT)
9 June
21:45
Kuwait Club 95–85 Shahrdari Gorgan
Scoring by quarter: 25–19, 16–26, 30–15, 24–25
Pts: Georges-Hunt 29
Rebs: Jawhar 8
Asts: Hamad Hasan, Alshemmari 5
Pts: Jamshidi 17
Rebs: Petty 7
Asts: Jamshidi 4
Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai
Attendance: 200
Referees: Takaki Kato (JPN), Park Kyoungjin (KOR), Wissam Zein (SYR)
11 June
16:00
Shahrdari Gorgan 81–87 Astana
Scoring by quarter: 19–26, 20–15, 26–27, 16–19
Pts: Yakhchali 24
Rebs: Alston 13
Asts: Petty 6
Pts: Anderson 30
Rebs: Anderson, Gavrilov 6
Asts: Johnson 10
Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai
Attendance: 100
Referees: Ahmed Ali Yaseen Al-Shuwali (IRQ), Ahmed Al-Bulushi (OMA), Wissam Zein (SYR)
11 June
18:45
Shabab Al Ahli 60–75 Kuwait Club
Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 14–23, 14–17, 10–12
Pts: Miller Jr. 16
Rebs: Miller Jr. 11
Asts: Miller Jr. 6
Pts: Hasan 26
Rebs: Maker 13
Asts: Georges-Hunt 5
Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai
Attendance: 50
Referees: Takaki Kato (JPN), Saif Al-Dossari (QAT), Lee Kyounghwan (KOR)
13 June
19:00
Astana 85–72 Kuwait Club
Scoring by quarter: 20–18, 28–19, 20–18, 17–17
Pts: Anderson 24
Rebs: Marchuk 8
Asts: Johnson 7
Pts: Georges-Hunt 16
Rebs: Hasan 7
Asts: Hasan, Alshemmari 3
Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai
Attendance: 344
Referees: Takaki Kato (JPN), Ahmed Al-Bulushi (OMA), Park Kyoungjin (KOR)
13 June
21:45
Shahrdari Gorgan 85–73 Shabab Al Ahli
Scoring by quarter: 21–17, 17–20, 22–20, 25–18
Pts: Jamshidi 35
Rebs: Alston 18
Asts: Jamshidi 10
Pts: Miller Jr. 23
Rebs: Miller Jr. 13
Asts: three players 5
Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai
Attendance: 234
Referees: Mohammad Alamiri (KUW), Yevgeniy Mikheyev (KAZ), Saif Al-Dossari (QAT)

Final phase

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
16 June
 
 
Al Riyadi 85
 
17 June
 
Kuwait Club 95
 
Kuwait Club 59
 
16 June
 
Manama 67
 
Astana 81
 
 
Manama 91
 
Third place game
 
 
17 June
 
 
Al Riyadi 90
 
 
Astana 94

Semi-finals

16 June
Astana 81–91 Manama
Scoring by quarter: 26–22, 18–23, 14–25, 23–21
Pts: Johnson 29
Rebs: Gavrilov, Anderson 5
Asts: Johnson 6
Pts: Rashed 23
Rebs: Evans 11
Asts: Pointer, Rashed 5
Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai
Attendance: 234[9]
16 June
Al Riyadi Beirut 85–95 Kuwait Club
Scoring by quarter: 18–33, 16–24, 21–20, 30–18
Pts: Reath 31
Rebs: Reath 10
Asts: Saoud 6
Pts: Georges-Hunt 32
Rebs: Jawhar, Lalanne 6
Asts: Georges-Hunt, Alshemmari 4
Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai
Attendance: 300[9]

Third place game

17 June
Al Riyadi Beirut 90–94 Astana
Scoring by quarter: 21–31, 23–16, 17–16, 29–31
Pts: Reath 23
Rebs: Reath 13
Asts: Murphy 5
Pts: Krampelj 23
Rebs: Krampelj 8
Asts: Johnson 8
Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai
Attendance: 100[9]

Championship game

17 June
Kuwait Club 59–67 Manama
Scoring by quarter: 14–18, 12–21, 13–11, 20–17
Pts: Hasan 25
Rebs: Lalanne, Hasan 6
Asts: five players 1
Pts: Rashed 18
Rebs: Pointer 8
Asts: Pointer, Thibodeaux 3
Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall, Dubai
Attendance: 800[9]

References

  1. ^ "FIBA announces the launch of West Asia Super League (WASL)". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  2. ^ "FIBA announces creation of West Asia Super League". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Statement on Chennai Heat participating to the Final 8". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Orthodox Club Amman replaces Orthodox Ramallah in Group A".
  5. ^ "West Asia Super League (WASL) draw date confirmed". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Ittihad Al Ahli of Aleppo and Al Karamah withdraw from West Asia Super League (WASL)". 3 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Ittihad Al Ahli of Aleppo and Al Karamah withdraw from West Asia Super League (WASL)". 3 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Dubai to host the inaugural FIBA West Asia Super League Final 8". FIBA.basketball. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d "West Asia Super League - Final 8 2023 Tournament Summary" (PDF). FIBA Competitions Reports. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.