DUBAI (UAE) - It is now time to meet the eight teams competing in the inaugural Basketball Champions League Asia (BCL Asia) with the target of being crowned the champion of champions among Asian basketball clubs.

Here we start with the host  Shabab Al Ahli.

Overview 

Shabab Al Ahli are qualified as the host of BCL Asia 2024. This continues a bold direction of the club in hosting club competitions after hosting the first-ever FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) Final 8 last June. The UAE club play their home games at the Sheikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Sports Hall.

This season, Shabab Al Ahli were also a part of the playing field in the WASL - Gulf Subzone League. However, they were not able to make it to the Semi-Finals after losing to Muharraq 2-1 in the best-of-three series, missing out on making it to WASL Final 8 as well as BCL Asia.

History

In 2017, Dubai CSC and Al Shabab merged with Al Ahli to become Shabab Al Ahli, arguably the biggest developments in the UAE sports scene. 

The club is the most successful team in the UAE League Basketball (ULB) as they have won 10 of the last 11 championships so far - including this most recent season.

Shabab Al Ahli are no strangers of competing in the regional level, having played in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup - which is now rebranded to be BCL Asia - in 2016 and 2017, both hosted in China. Their best performance was a Semi-Finals appearance back in 2016.

Key Player(s) 

Shabab Al Ahli's most decorated player is undoubtedly Qais Omar Alshabebi. In FIBA club competitions, Alshabebi has already played over 50 games with Shabab Al Ahli, averaging 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He's always averaged double-digit scoring in these competitions.

The 2.00M (6'7") big man was also on the team that made it to the Semi-Finals in the Asia Champions Cup back in 2016 and can still play a key part in this BCL Asia after putting up 12.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game this previous WASL Gulf season.

Upcoming Schedule

10 June 2024 - 21:30 (GMT +4) - vs NS Matrix Deers
11 June 2024 - 21:30 (GMT +4) - vs Al Riyadi Beirut
12 June 2024 - 18:30 (GMT +4) - vs Liaoning Flying Leopards 

FIBA