Kuwait beat Al-Ittihad 105-97 in the WASL tournament in Kazakhstan on 26 September 2026. The away side took the result from the opening exchanges and held on through a tight finish. The win extended their recent scoring output, having put up 107 and 111 in their last two fixtures before this one.
Al-Ittihad came into the match on a run of five straight victories, including a 115-73 demolition of Al-Halij and a 95-75 win over Bahrain. They were reduced to defending rather than dictating, and Kuwait's visitors ground out the win against hosts who had been running the show in domestic play.
Kuwait's form heading into this game showed inconsistency — they had lost 88-58 to Al-Ula in January but bounced back with 107-101 and 111-86 victories. To be fair, the margin here was narrow, and they were overrun in the final quarter when Al-Ittihad pressed for a comeback. The crowd roared them on through the closing minutes.
And here's the thing — the statistics don't tell you much about who controlled the game. Kuwait's victory came after a period of mixed results, while Al-Ittihad had been dominant. The scoreline suggests a competitive match, but without period-by-period data it's impossible to say when the balance shifted.
By then, both sides had established their patterns. Al-Ittihad relied on their recent run of five wins, while Kuwait showed they could produce high scores against weaker opposition and still compete with stronger teams. The result leaves Kuwait with momentum and Al-Ittihad searching for answers.
