Tonight at 9:00 PM UAE time, Al Ahli's youth team will host Saudi Ittihad Jeddah in the opening match of the return leg of Group A of the 'Super West Asia' basketball league for the Gulf region. 'The Knights of Basketball' enter the match aiming to avenge their defeat in the first leg, which they lost in Dubai last October with a score of 88-94. Both teams are targeting a win that would guarantee the top spot in the group, as they are currently tied with five points each. Ittihad Jeddah started their campaign with a win over Al Ahli's youth team, followed by a second victory over Kuwait's Kazima (92-81), before suffering a loss to Bahrain's Al-Muharraq (79-84). Meanwhile, Al Ahli's youth team secured a well-deserved away win against Kazima (69-66), preceded by a hard-fought victory in the second round against Bahrain's Al-Muharraq (89-87). Official statistics show a slight edge for Ittihad Jeddah in shooting percentages, both for two-pointers (60.6%) and three-pointers (31.7%), compared to 54.4% and 28.3% for Al Ahli's youth team, respectively. Additionally, Ittihad Jeddah outperforms its opponent in bench productivity, with their players averaging 22.3 points per game in the first leg, compared to just 11 points for Al Ahli's youth team. For today's match, Al Ahli's youth team will rely on the experience of their American point guard, Dishawn Washington, the only player to achieve a 'triple-double' in all first-leg matches, averaging 26.7 points, 11 assists, and 9.7 rebounds per game. On the other side, Ittihad Jeddah's key players are American point guard Gerald Aidi (averaging 23 points per game), his compatriot Eric Neal (averaging 13 assists), and Senegalese center Ibrahim Faye (averaging 9.7 rebounds per game).
