Al Riyadi Beirut lift their first FIBA Asia Champions Cup – How they won it? (Part-3)
Quarterfinals: Lebanon’s Al Riyadi 106 – Iraq’s Duhok 80
Staring at a 7 point deficit early on, Al Riyadi Beirut recuperated swiftly and never trailed throughout the game to knock the Iraqi club Duhok out of the tournament. Jean Abd El Nour sparked AL Riyadi with a team-high 24 points
while power forward El Cheikh Fadi El Khatib chipped in with 21 points as the Lebanese team raced to the semifinals with a comprehensive 106-80 victory.
Chester Jarell Giles showcased yet another brilliant performance for the Iraqi team and finished with a game-high 29 points 13 rebounds. However, his super efforts couldn’t haunt the streaking Lebanese outfit. There was no turning
back for Al Riyadi, once they snatched the lead late in the first quarter and converted it into double figure, going into the halftime. Despite of a huge lead at the interval, the Lebanese did not lower their guard in the second half and continued to rip the
opposition apart to wrap up a 26-point win.
Semi-Finals: Lebanon’s Al Riyadi 71 – Qatar’s Al Rayyan 52
Fuelled by the determination to clinch a place in the tournament final for the first time in their history, Al Riyadi stormed into the Phil Sports Arena and completely overshadowed last year’s runner up Al Rayyan of Qatar in the
semifinals. This was Al Riyadi’s second win of the tournament against the Qatari’s.
Ismail Abdel Moneim Ismail Ahmed and El Khatib led Al Riyadi with brilliant performances, notching up 25 and 18 points respectively. Targuy Alban Ngombo was the top scorer for Qatar’s team with 15 points. Al Riyadi were in their
groove early and romped to a 13-0 run in the preliminary six minutes of the game. The Lebanese never relinquished their advantage after that and raced away towards the ultimate battle of the tournament.
Finals: Lebanon’s Al Riyadi 91 – Iran’s Mahram 82
After years of disappointments and heart breaks, Al Riyadi Beirut finally had a shot to land the gold medal in the FIBA Asia Championship Cup. However, standing in their way were the two times defending champions, Mahram of Iran.
The Lebanese outfit required something special to topple the mighty Iranians on the night and they got it from their ace forward El Cheikh Fadi El Khatib.
Al Riyadi’s produced a performance befitting the grand occasion and scorched Mahram with a 41 point blitz and steered his team to its first Asian title. 29 of the tournament-high 41 points from El Khatib came into the second half
as Al Riyadi pounded 34 points in the fourth frame to carve out an exhilarating 91-82 win.
El Khatib said after the game, “I can’t express my feelings man. When you wait for something for a long time, it’s always sweeter.”
Link for part-1: http://www.senore.com/Al-Riyadi-Beirut-lift-their-first-FIBA-Asia-Champions-Cup-How-they-won-it-Part-1-a74064
Link for part-2: http://www.senore.com/Al-Riyadi-Beirut-lift-their-first-FIBA-Asia-Champions-Cup-How-they-won-it-Part-2-a74086
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