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Al-Wahda Sports Club
Nickname	Damascene Orange (Arabic: البرتقالة الدمشقية)
Leagues	Syrian Basketball League
Founded	1928
History	Al-Qasioun Sports Club 1928–1972 Al Wahda Damascus 1972–present
Arena	Al Fayhaa Arena (capacity: 6000) Al Wahda Club Arena (capacity: 3000)
Location	Damascus, Syria
Team colors	Orange and White
Main sponsor	Lactomil
President	Maher Al-Sayed
Head coach	Marwan Khalil
2023–24 position	Syrian League, 1st of 12
Championships	(1) Asian Cup (2) West Asian Cup (11) Syrian Basketball League (7) Syrian Basketball Cup (1) Syrian Basketball Super Cup
Website	www.alwahdasport.sy
Home Away

Al-Wahda active sections
Football	Basketball

Al-Wahda (Arabic: نادي الوحدة الرياضي) is a professional basketball club. It is a part of the Al-Wahda Sports Club, which is based in Damascus, Syria. The team changed its name in 1972 to the name they use today. It is known for being one of the pillars in the sport not only in the capital Damascus, but in all of Syria. Al-Wahda won the FIBA Asia Champions Cup in 2003.

History

The team was founded in 1928 under the name Al-Qasioun Sports Club by Ahmed Ezzat Rifai, who was its original founder, being one of the oldest teams in the Arab world, who founded it as a sports team, encompassing basketball.

The club's golden age began in the 1990s, when the team was able to beat both the Aleppo clubs, Al Jalaa and Al Ittihad, and became the SBL champion in the 1994 season. Until the 2003 season, Al-Wahda SC absolutely dominated the domestic scene with 6 Syrian league titles. In the 1999-2004 seasons, they also won the Syrian Basketball Cup.

During its golden era, Al Wahda has established itself mainly at the international level. In the 1998 season, the club debuted in the first year of the West Asian Champions Cup, where it took 4th place. In the 2000 season, the club played for the second time in WABA League, which it managed to win, and advanced to the Asian Cup for the first time.

In the 2001 season, the team was able to defend their title in the WABA League and, after advancing to the Asian Cup in a tough competition after winning over Winling Hong Kong, placed third. In the 2002-03 season, Al-Wahda SC achieved the greatest success in the history of the club and Syrian basketball. At the FIBA Asian Cup in Kuala Lumpur, after winning the basic group, they advanced to the semifinals, where they defeated Sangmu FC 107:78 and in the final Al-Rayyan SC 96:63. In the following season, the club managed to advance to the Asian Cup after finishing second in the 2004 WABA League, where they won the group and advanced to the quarterfinals. After advancing to the finals, the club failed to defend the title, as it lost to Sagesse SC 70:72.

In 2014, after 11 years, the Wahda SC team won the SBL title after a 79:67 final win over Al-Ittihad. In 2015, Al Wahda defeated Al-Ittihad SC in the final and won its ninth title and the second in a row. In 2017, the club won the Syrian Cup and thus its last title.

The club's latest success is participating in the SBL final in the 2021 season, where it lost to Al Karamah SC 64:79 in the first match, won 74:69 in the second and lost 51:74 in the third. In the 2022 season, the team advanced to the Syrian Super Cup final, where it was beaten by Al-Ittihad 52:60.

Home arena

• Al-Fayhaa Sports Arena: 1976–present

• Al-Fayhaa Sports Arena

Club rivalries

The biggest rival of the club is Al-Jaish SC, the biggest city derby in Damascus are playing against each other.

Honours

Domestic

• Syrian Basketball League
  • Winners (11): 1993/1994 - 1996/1997 - 1997/1998 - 1998/1999 - 2000/2001 - 2001/2002 - 2002/2003 - 2013/2014 - 2014/2015 - 2022/2023 - 2023/2024
  • Runners-Up (1): 2020/2021
• Syrian Basketball Cup
  • Winners (8): 1996 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2017 - 2021
• Syrian Basketball Super Cup
  • Winners (2): 2022, 1994
  • Runners-Up (1): 2021
• Damascus Basketball Tournament
  • Third place (1): 2009

Asian

• FIBA Asia Champions Cup
  • Winners (1): 2003
  • Runners-Up (1): 2004
  • Third Place (2): 2001 - 2002
• WABA Champions Cup
  • Winners (2): 2000 - 2001
  • Runners-Up (1): 2004
• Dubai International Tournament
  • Third place (1): 2011

Sponsorship

As of 2022, the main partners of the club are Cham Wings, Syria Gulf Bank, Lactomil (men team) and Dermexcel (women team).

Current roster

Squad for the 2021–2022 Syrian Basketball League season:

Al Wahda roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name PF 0 Mohammed Otabashi SG 3 Ajwad Elias G 4 Ala'a Edelbi SF 5 Yousef Manna'a SG 7 Abdullah Al-Halabi G 8 Magd Harbasha C 10 Amer Al-Sati SF 12 Omar Edelbi G 13 Sharif Al-Osh C 14 Manar Al-Hamad C 23 Hani Adrebi C 28 Kemal Canpolat	Head coach Nenad Krdzić Assistant coach(es) Ahmad Halfawy Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 23 May 2022

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Past rosters

• 2010-2011:

Number	Player	Position	Height (cm)	Age
4	Rabie Hashem	SF	188	22
5	Omar Karkoukly	PG	175	29
6	Souliman Dreeby	SF	198	25
7	Hozifa Al Maleh	SG	185	24
8	Majd Arbasheh	SG	178	20
9	Muhammad Kahatt	SG	188	23
10	Sharif Al Sharif (c)	SG	188	32
11	Adam Zahn	PF	203	27
12	Yervent Jakerjian	C	202	31
13	Sharif Al Esh	PG	187	21
14	Nicholas Zachery	SG	191	31
15	Hani Dreeby	PF	198	20
TBD	Yousef Mannaa	SF	189	19
TBD	Muhammad Oudabashy	PF	195	18
TBD	Ricky Clemons	PG	180	30
TBD	Tarek Ali Moussa	C	207	29

Transfers

Transfers for the 2021-22 season:

Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Head coaches

• Hady Darwish (2006–2012)
• Rateb Sheikh Najeeb
• Gennadi Samarskiy
• Frederick Onika

Club presidents

• List of Al Wahda presidents since 1974:

Season by season

References

1. "Al Wahda Damascus". asia-basket. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
2. "Syria foundation dates". RSSF. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
3. "Al Wahda Damascus History". asia-basket. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
4. نادي الوحدة السوري... شعبية جارفة وتاريخ عريق Archived 3 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine
5. ^ "Al Wahda SC History". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
6. ^ "WABA Champions Cup - Roll of Honor" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-22.
7. ABC Champions Cup 2000
8. "FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2001". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
9. "FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2003". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
10. "FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2004". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
11. "Syrian Basketball League 2013-2014". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
12. "Syrian Basketball League 2014-2015". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
13. Bushra Dabin/ Mazen Eyon (12 July 2021). "Al-Karama beats al-Wahda in the first round of men basketball final league". Syrian Arab News Agency. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
14. "Syrian Basketball League 2020-2021". goalzz.com. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
15. "Syrian Basketball Super Cup". goalzz.com. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
16. "Al-Wahda team qualifies to the final round of the Basketball League". Syrian Arab News Agency. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
17. ^ "Al Wahda, Current roster season 2021-2022". asia-basket. Retrieved 20 December 2021.

External links

• Unofficial Fan Site and Forum (in Arabic)
• Asia-basket

• Basketball teams in Syria
• Sport in Damascus
• Basketball teams established in 1928