Kuwait's 'basket' is gold

Al-Qurain 91-69 Thursday, in the second match of the final series, which is played in a best-of-three playoff format. Al-Abyad had previously defeated Al-Qurain 110-83 in the first match. In the third-place match, Kazma repeated their victory over Qadsia 86-83 in the second game, after winning the first 118-69, to finish third. This eighth consecutive title confirms Al-Abyad’s dominance in the sport in recent years, without any serious competition from other clubs, which must now prepare more thoroughly in upcoming seasons to seriously challenge Kuwait for local titles. Al-Qurain emerged as a notable club this season, reaching the final for the first time in its history thanks to its focus on youth teams in previous seasons, which produced a number of young players who could have a bright future if they receive attention and development in the coming period. Despite Al-Qurain’s emergence under the leadership of dedicated national coach Yahya Kalib, it was unable to mount a serious challenge against Kuwait in the final, as Al-Abyad won both matches comfortably, by margins of 27 points in the first game and 22 points in the second. Meanwhile, the performance of Kazma and Qadsia declined to a worrying extent due to the absence of young talents in their ranks and the aging of some of their standout players, resulting in lackluster performances and an inability to compete with Kuwait for titles. For his part, Kuwait Club Vice President Bader Al-Asimi said that winning the league title for the eighth consecutive time is an “unprecedented achievement” and the result of the efforts and support of the club’s board, sound planning, and the implementation of appropriate strategies to strengthen the team. Al-Asimi affirmed that the players met expectations and were clearly determined to win the title since the start of the tournament, thanking Kuwait Club’s fans for their support and praising the federation’s role and commitment to developing the sport in the country.