2011 FIBA Champions Cup Roundup Day 4: Lebanon’s Al Riyadi and Syria’s Al Jalaa win (Part-2)
Al Riyadi 78 – Al Rayyan 73
Rodrigue Akl of Al Riyadi buried a decisive bucket in the last seconds of the fourth quarter and took the game in overtime. In the extra time, Ismail Abdel Moneim Ismail Ahmed took over the game, scoring five in an 8-3 run as the Lebanese side wrapped up an exhilarating 78-73 victory over the last year’s runner up Al Rayyan of Qatar.
Al Riyadi, who knocked down the two times defending champion Mahram last night, made a startling comeback in the fourth quarter. Trailing by 9 points early the Lebanese outfit to a 15-6 run to tie the scores at the end of regulation time.
Ismail Ahmed and Loren G Woods dominated the proceedings with a double-double apiece. Ismail Ahmed finished off with a game-high 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Woods chipped in with 18 points and 17 boards in the battle of the Group B titans.
The star of the night Ismail said after the game, “It was a very physical game, especially after last night’s game it was a struggle for us,
Both the teams had some wavering moments during the first half of the game however Al Rayyan took control just before halftime and sealed 35-29 advantage. The Qatari’s never relinquished the advantage throughout the third quarter and amplified the lead to 7 points by its end. Rayyan continued to dominate early in the fourth but Al Riyadi mounted a ferocious fight back and sealed the win.
Al Jalaa 93 – Al Shabab 63
Al Shabab, the champions of UAE, lost their fourth game in as many days as they lost 93-63 against Syria’s Al Jalaa. Marcelle Yaqqub racked up a team-high 23 points to marshal the Syrian team.
Five players from Al Jalaa landed double figures. On the other hand, Rashed Al Zaabi and Fields Courtney were the top performers for the UAE’s team with 24 and 21 points respectively. After being swept out of the tournament, Al Shabab’s coach Ahmad Omer said. “We came from a tough schedule in GCC followed by the Arab clubs event. And then it was like baptism by fire in our group. All the four other teams in our Group are far better than us in all departments. But even then, I think we fought very well against Mahram. So there are a lot of positives we are taking from here,”
The Syrian outfit dominated right from the first quarter and procured a massive 26-13 lead by its end. Al Shabab tried to retaliate in the second frame, but were never able to recover from a double digit hole. Even after sealing a comprehensive advantage in the first two quarters, Jalaa continued to rip the opposition apart in the second half of the game and ended the night with a huge 30-point win.
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