FIBA West Asia Super League

Not to be confused with the East Asia Super League, ASEAN Basketball League or AsiaBasket.
FIBA West Asia Super League
Organising bodyFIBA Asia
Founded31 March 2022; 2 years ago (2022-03-31)
First season2022–23
Countries14
Conferences2
Number of teams18
Level on pyramid1
Feeder toBasketball Champions League Asia
Current championsLebanon Al Riyadi (1st title)
(2023–24)
Most championshipsBahrain Manama
Lebanon Al Riyadi (1 title each)
TV partnersYouSport
WASL (YouTube)
WebsiteOfficial website
2024–25 FIBA West Asia Super League

The FIBA West 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.

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. Year Host First place game Third place game Num.
teams 		Ref.
Winners Score Runners-up Third place Score Fourth place
1 2022–23 United Arab Emirates Dubai Bahrain Manama 67–59 Kuwait Kuwait Club Kazakhstan Astana 94–90 Lebanon Al Riyadi Beirut
18
 [6]
2 2023–24 Qatar Doha Lebanon Al Riyadi 100–90 (OT) Lebanon Sagesse Iran Shahrdari Gorgan 92–76 Kuwait 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

Season Champions Score Runners-up Third place Fourth place
2022–23 Kuwait Kuwait Club
2–0
 Bahrain Manama United Arab Emirates Shabab Al Ahli Saudi Arabia Al Hilal
2023–24 Kuwait Kuwait Club
2–1
 Bahrain Manama Kuwait Kazma Bahrain Al Muharraq

WASL West Asia League

Season Champions Score Runners-up Third place Fourth place
2022–23 Lebanon Al Riyadi Beirut 2–0 Iran Shahrdari Gorgan Lebanon Beirut Club Iran Zob Ahan Isfahan
2023–24 Lebanon Al Riyadi Beirut 2–1 Iran Shahrdari Gorgan Lebanon Sagesse Iraq Al Shorta

Records and statistics

League records

Largest win

  • +55 by Al Hilal vs. Al Bashaer (103–48) on 6 March 2023[8]

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
Club Winners Runners-up Years won Years runner-up
Bahrain Manama 1 0 2023 —
Lebanon Al Riyadi 1 0 2024 —
Kuwait Kuwait Club 0 1 — 2023
Lebanon Sagesse 0 1 — 2024

Performances by nation

Performance in finals by nation
Nation Winners Runners-up Total
 Lebanon 1 1 2
 Bahrain 1 0 1
 Kuwait 0 1 1

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.

Nation No. Clubs Seasons
Lebanon Lebanon (3) 2 Al Riyadi 2022–23, 2023–24
1 Beirut Club 2022–23
1 Sagesse 2023–24
Iran Iran (2) 2 Shahrdari Gorgan 2022–23, 2023–24
1 Zob Ahan Isfahan 2022–23
Syria Syria (3) 2 Al Ittihad Aleppo 2022–23, 2023–24
1 Al Karamah 2022–23
1 Al Wahda 2023–24
Jordan Jordania (2) 1 Orthodox Amman 2022–23
1 Al Ahli Amman 2023–24
Iraq Iraq (1) 2 Al Naft 2022–23, 2023–24
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia (3) 1 Al Hilal 2022–23
1 Al Nassr Riyadh 2022–23
1 Al Ahli Jeddah 2023–24
Kuwait Kuwait (2) 2 Kuwait Club 2022–23, 2023–24
2 Kazma 2022–23, 2023–24
United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates (1) 2 Shabab Al Ahli 2022–23, 2023–24
Oman Oman (1) 1 Al Bashaer 2022–23
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan (1) 2 Astana 2022–23, 2023–24
Qatar Qatar (3) 1 Al Rayyan 2023–24
1 Al Sadd 2022–23
1 Al Shamal 2023–24
Bahrain Bahrain (2) 2 Manama 2022–23, 2023–24
1 Al Muharraq 2023–24
 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]

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. ^ a b c "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.
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