Three key factors led the Sharjah basketball club to achieve its first victory, marking its historic debut in the 'West Asia Super League'. The team defeated their Qatari opponent, Al-Arabi, with a score of 91-89 in the second round of the group stage. One of the main factors was the successful use of substitutes by coach Abdelhamid Ibrahim. Sharjah shook up the group standings, joining Al-Arabi (Qatar), Al-Kuwait (Kuwait), and Al-Ula (Saudi Arabia) with three wins and three losses. Previously, Sharjah had lost to Al-Ula in the first round with a score of 74-108. Here are the three technical factors that led to Sharjah's success:
1. Bench Players Sharjah's bench players ensured an even distribution of physical effort throughout the game, contributing 15 points, compared to 12 points from Al-Arabi's substitutes. A notable three-pointer by Khalid Khalifa from the bench in the final minutes broke the tie (85-85), allowing Sharjah to secure a narrow victory.
2. Effectiveness Under the Basket Sharjah focused on the effectiveness of its players under the opponent's basket, achieving a 59.6% success rate on two-point shots, compared to Al-Arabi's 52.9%. This compensated for the Qatari team's advantage in three-point shooting, which had a success rate of 33.3% compared to Sharjah's 30.4%.
3. Di Marco Sharjah's point guard, Di Marco Dicosso, delivered an outstanding performance over the full 40 minutes, earning him the title of Player of the Match. He scored a double-double with 26 points (76.9% success rate) and 13 assists out of the team's 24 total assists. In contrast, Al-Arabi players managed only 20 assists.
