FIBA West Asia Super League

Last updated

FIBA West Asia Super League
West Asia Super League logo.png
Organising body FIBA Asia
Founded31 March 2022;2 years ago (2022-03-31)
First season 2022–23
Countries14
Conferences2
Number of teams18
Level on pyramid1
Feeder to Basketball Champions League Asia
Current champions Flag of Lebanon.svg Al Riyadi (1st title)
(2023–24)
Most championships Flag of Bahrain.svg Manama
Flag of Lebanon.svg Al Riyadi (1 title each)
TV partnersYouSport
WASL (YouTube)
Website Official website
Basketball current event.svg 2023–24 FIBA West Asia Super League

The FIBAWest Asia Super League (WASL) is an international basketball league organised by FIBA Asia, consisting of clubs from West Asia and Gulf regions, in addition to the representatives of South and Central Asia. The league was announced in 2022 and started with the inaugural season from December, until June 2023.

Contents

The league exists out of 18 teams, divided in its sub-zones. The champions and runners-up of each season is scheduled to qualify for the Basketball Champions League Asia.

History

On March 31, 2022 FIBA announced the creation of the West Asia Super League. The United Arab Emirates-based company eVulpa was appointed as partner for its commercial rights. [1]

The inaugural season has begun on 19 December 2022, and will end in May 2023, with a total of eighteen teams playing in the 2022–23 season. [2] Kuwait SC were the inaugural champions of the Gulf League, [3] while Al Riyadi Beirut won the inaugural West Asia League title. [4] The first-ever Final Eight was hosted in Dubai, and on 17 June 2023, Manama from Bahrain won the inaugural championship. [5]

Results

The WASL has three champions each season: the winner of the Gulf League, of the West Asia League and the overall winner who comes out of the final stage victorious.

WASL champions and finals

Ed.YearHostFirst place gameThird place gameNum.
teams
Ref.
WinnersScoreRunners-upThird placeScoreFourth place
1 2022–23 Dubai Flag of Bahrain.svg Manama 67–59 Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait Club Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Astana 94–90 Flag of Lebanon.svg Al Riyadi Beirut
18
[6]
2 2023–24 Doha Flag of Lebanon.svg Al Riyadi 100–90 (OT) Flag of Lebanon.svg Sagesse Flag of Iran.svg Shahrdari Gorgan 92–76 Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait Club
18
[7]

Sub-Zone League champions

The champions of the Sub-Zone Leagues (Gulf League and West Asia League) are determined by play-off series. In the finals, the two teams play in a best-of-three series.

WASL Gulf League

SeasonChampionsScoreRunners-upThird placeFourth place
2022–23 Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait Club
2–0
Flag of Bahrain.svg Manama Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Shabab Al Ahli Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Al Hilal
2023–24 Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait Club
2–1
Flag of Bahrain.svg Manama Flag of Kuwait.svg Kazma Flag of Bahrain.svg Al Muharraq

WASL West Asia League

SeasonChampionsScoreRunners-upThird placeFourth place
2022–23 Flag of Lebanon.svg Al Riyadi Beirut 2–0 Flag of Iran.svg Shahrdari Gorgan Flag of Lebanon.svg Beirut Club Flag of Iran.svg Zob Ahan Isfahan
2023–24 Flag of Lebanon.svg Al Riyadi Beirut 2–1 Flag of Iran.svg Shahrdari Gorgan Flag of Lebanon.svg Sagesse Flag of Iraq.svg Al Shorta

Records and statistics

League records

Largest win

Youngest player to appear in a WASL game

Most points in a game by a single player

Most rebounds in a game by a single player

Most assists in a game by a single player

Most steals in a game by a single player

Most blocks in a game by a single player

Highest attendance in a game

Performances by club

Performance in the West Asia Super League by club
ClubWinnersRunners-upYears wonYears runner-up
Flag of Bahrain.svg Manama 10 2023
Flag of Lebanon.svg Al Riyadi 10 2024
Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait Club 01 2023
Flag of Lebanon.svg Sagesse 01 2024

Performances by nation

Performance in finals by nation
NationWinnersRunners-upTotal
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 112
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 101
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 011

Number of participating clubs of the West Asia Super League

The following is a list of clubs that have played or will be playing in the WASL group stage.

NationNo.ClubsSeasons
Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon (3)2 Al Riyadi 2022–23, 2023–24
1 Beirut Club 2022–23
1 Sagesse 2023–24
Flag of Iran.svg Iran (2)2 Shahrdari Gorgan 2022–23, 2023–24
1 Zob Ahan Isfahan 2022–23
Flag of Syria.svg Syria (3)2 Al Ittihad Aleppo 2022–23, 2023–24
1 Al Karamah 2022–23
1 Al Wahda 2023–24
Flag of Jordan.svg Jordania (2)1 Orthodox Amman 2022–23
1 Al Ahli Amman 2023–24
Flag of Iraq.svg Iraq (1)2 Al Naft 2022–23, 2023–24
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia (3)1 Al Hilal 2022–23
1 Al Nassr Riyadh 2022–23
1 Al Ahli Jeddah 2023–24
Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait (2)2 Kuwait Club 2022–23, 2023–24
2 Kazma 2022–23, 2023–24
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates (1)2 Shabab Al Ahli 2022–23, 2023–24
Flag of Oman.svg Oman (1)1 Al Bashaer 2022–23
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Kazakhstan (1)2 Astana 2022–23, 2023–24
Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar (3)1 Al Rayyan 2023–24
1 Al Sadd 2022–23
1 Al Shamal 2023–24
Flag of Bahrain.svg Bahrain (2)2 Manama 2022–23, 2023–24
1 Al Muharraq 2023–24
Flag of India.svg  India (1)1 Tamil Nadu 2023–24

Most Valuable Player

Starting from the 2023–24 season, FIBA announced an annual most valuable player. The inaugural award was given to Thon Maker of Al Riyadi. [14]

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References

  1. "FIBA announces creation of West Asia Super League". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  2. "FIBA announces the launch of West Asia Super League (WASL)". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  3. "Kuwait Club complete historic sweep, become first-ever WASL-Gulf champs". FIBA.basketball. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  4. "Al Riyadi deliver masterclass at home, secure inaugural WASL-West Asia crown". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  5. "Manama clinch inaugural FIBA WASL championship". FIBA.basketball. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  6. "Sweet payback: Manama overcome Kuwait Club, emerge as first-ever FIBA WASL champions". FIBA.basketball. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  7. "Al Riyadi emerge as new FIBA WASL champions". FIBA.basketball. 1 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  8. "Al Hilal eliminate Al Bashaer by 55 in record win". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  9. "Albalooshi proud as he becomes youngest to play in WASL at 17". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  10. "Riyadi get revenge despite Sosa scoring WASL record 46 points". FIBA.basketball. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 "Will these FIBA WASL records get broken in Season 2?". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  12. "Karrar Hamzah writes history, breaks FIBA WASL single-game steals record". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  13. "Record attendance of 13K fuels more hope to Al-Ittihad Ahli in FIBA WASL". FIBA.basketball. 25 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  14. "Thon Maker crowned as first-ever FIBA WASL MVP". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 4 June 2024.