Manama face must-win against Kazma in WASL basketball

TDT | Manama                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Bahrain league champions Manama Club face a do-or-die game two against Kazma of Kuwait tonight in their best-of-three qualification series to the semi-finals of the Gulf subzone in the 2022/2023 FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL).

Manama lost 69-83 in game one last week and need to win this evening to force a decisive third game, which would be held next week.

Tonight’s fixture is scheduled for a 10pm tip-off, Bahrain time, and it will be played at Shaikh Saad Alabdullah Sport Hall Complex in Kuwait City.

Manama and Kazma were paired off in this knockout stage after Manama finished as runners-up in Group B of the preliminary stage while Kazma were third in Group A.

There is another qualification to the semi-finals series between Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai and Al Nassr Riyadh of Saudi Arabia.

Should Manama come back from their Kazma test, they will earn a berth in the final four, where they will face Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, also over three games.

Those will take place on April 17, April 24 and May 1. The WASL is a new basketball competition sanctioned by FIBA, the sport’s global governing body.

Manama are one of 16 teams in this inaugural edition. Along with the Gulf sub-zone, there is a West Asia sub-zone.

The top three teams from the WASL Gulf and WASL West Asia sub-zones qualify for the WASL Final 8, where they will be joined by Champions of South Asia and Central Asia.

The WASL Final 8 will qualify for FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2023, on the road to FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2023, FIBA’s highest club competition.