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*** LEBANESE MEN BASKETBALL MAIN PAGE ***
 | New Zealand beats Lebanon in Hamilton | |
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by Eurobasket News - Jul 3, 2008 | |  | New Zealand - Lebanon 84:71
New Zealand National Team finally snapped their losing streak as they held off Lebanese team at the Jack Donohue International Classic in Canada. Craig Bradshaw (207-F/C-83, college: Winthrop) scored 18 points to pace the Tall Blacks. Kirk Penney (194-G-80, college: Wisconsin) was helpful as usual with 17 points as the Kiwis finally start the ball rolling. Five Tall Blacks scored in double figures as Paora Winitana (195-G-76) and Lindsay Tait (194-G-82) had 13 points apiece. Nick Horvath added 12 points in a winning case. The taller Lebanese team got to a better start as they dominated in the paint and built a 21:17 lead into the second quarter. However the Tall Blacks opened the second stanza on a 12:1 run to pull themselves in front. New Zealand maintained the lead and enjoyed a 4-point buffer at halftime. The teams traded baskets early in the third stanza and Lebanon managed to draw things even as Fadi El Khatib (197-F-79, agency: Pro Management Agency) improved on his 4-point first half performance. But New Zealand capped the frame on a 13:5 rally to pile up an 8-point cushion heading into the final quarter. Craig Bradshaw drained a three-pointer to mark a 15:3 run from the Tall Blacks midway through the fourth stanza as they cleared off to a 20-point distance and never looked back again. Rony Fahed (182-G-81, agency: Pro Management Agency) led Lebanon with 20 points, 7 boards and 7 assists. Fadi El Khatib delivered 16 points in a losing case. The Tall Blacks shot solid 58% from the field and limited their opponents to just 45% of field goals. New Zealand will now take on Canada again on Saturday.
New Zealand: Craig Bradshaw 18, Kirk Penney 17, Paora Winitana 13, Lindsay Tait 13
Lebanon: Rony Fahed 20, Fadi El Khatib 16 |
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| Canada cruises past Lebanon at the Jack Donohue International Classic | |
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by Eurobasket News - Jul 1, 2008 | | | Canada - Lebanon 89:67
Canadian National Team grabbed the initial win at the Jack Donohue International tournament in Canada. The hosts faced Lebanese team in the competition opener at the McMaster University. Canada led for the major part of the game and deservedly prevailed at the end. Rowan Barrett (197-G/F-72, college: St.John's) ignited a quick start for Canadian team as they claimed an 18:14 lead after the opening stanza. Canada kept on mounting the pressure in the second period and as Barrett completed his 13-point first half tally the home side found themselves up by 15 points at the interval. Canada opened the second half on a 12:5 run to leave the visitors far behind. The newly crowned West Asian champions had little to oppose the hosts and Canada stormed past Lebanon in the second half. Carl English (192-G-81, college: Hawaii) led the charge with 18 points. Olu Famutimi (197-G-84, agency: CGL Sports, college: Arkansas) scored 14 points, while Samuel Dalembert had 10 points and 11 boards for the winners. Fadi El Khatib (197-F-79, agency: Pro Management Agency) answered with 20 points for Lebanon. Rony Fahed (182-G-81, agency: Pro Management Agency) and Joe Vogel (211-C-73, agency: Pro Management Agency, college: Colorado St.) dropped 14 points apiece in a loss. Canada outrebounded their opponents 38:25 and shot impressive 54% from the field. Lebanon posted 35% accuracy from the field. Canada will take on New Zealand today.
Canada: Carl English 18, Rowan Barrett 16, Olu Famutimi 14
Lebanon: Fadi El Khatib 20, Rony Fahed 14, Joe Vogel 14 |
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| Lebanon West Asian Champion | |
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| | | Lebanon once again imposed its supremacy in West Asia after wining the West Asian Championship which was held in Jordan.
Lebanon won its 3 games n the championship against Syria , Palestine and the Home Team Jordan.
Lebanon had a difficult start, the players were joined 1 week from the start of the WABA Championship and the preparations started late due that the league finished late, in the second game Lebanon had an easy win against Palestine.
In the last game of the tourney against Jordan Lebanon had to win to bring back the West Asian Title back to Lebanon after the last one in 2001.
The game started equal , the lead was exchanged throughout the first twenty minutes , Jamal Abou Chamaleh kept Jordan in the game (Finished the game with 13 points ) while Fady El Khatib led Lebanon. Jordan had a small lead at the half 35-33.
In the third quarter Lebanon outscored Jordan 25 to 9 through the great plays of El Khatib , Feghali and Ali Mahmoud , Lebanon finished the third quarter with a big 58-44.
In the fourth quarter the same tempo continued and Lebanon secured a new West Asian Title on the score of 75-64.
The participation in this Championship was a start in the preparation period that the Lebanese National Team will undergo for Athens .
Lebanon will participate in two international tournaments in Canada and France before heading to Athens to participate in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament .
Best Performances :
Fadi El Khatib (24pts ) , Joseph Vogel (14pts) , Brian Feghali ( 12pts) , Rony Fahed (10pts) , Ali Mahmoud ( 8pts, 14rebs , 6assits , 4stls |
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| Nate Johnson To Al-Riyadi | |
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| | | Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut 'Lebanon's champion basketball in the last four years' signed the american player Nate Johnson (199-F-77, college: Louisville) for three years.
Johnson will be the second foreign with the team captain the egyption player Ismail Ahmed. Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut earn a high quality player and hope to restore Arab Championship and win the Asian Clubs Championship for the first time in history. The American player has Contributed significantly By Zain Arab Clubs Championship held in Amman, the beginning of last month. |
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| Riyadi Beirut 2007-2008 Champion | |
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| | | Riyadi crowned the efforts of its hero players and fans by clinching the cup and title of Lebanese Basketball Championship for the 2007-2008 season. Riyadi is the only team in the history of Lebanon to win the Lebanese Championship 20 times!!! No team is ever even close to that record! This is Riyadi's 4th championship title in a row and we look for so many to come in the future!!! As Riyadi fans, we are proud of our Men, our Heroes, our Champions, for doing what no team has ever done, and for making us proud of them, of ourselves, and of our Club! Its not a secret that this 2007-2008 season was a tough one for Riyadi which suffered from few upsets, but now it's the time to celebrate… the time to wipe the sweat off, and enjoy the victory, which for yet another year, crowns us as THE ULTIMATE KINGS OF THE LEBANESE BASKETBALL WORLD.
This year's achievement took place in Tripoli, on Mouttahid's home court where the Champions of Lebanon ended the finals series (3-1) by knocking out Mouttahid with a deadly blow (71-66) ending the season and earning the title. Despite the win, it is worth noting that Mouttahid Club had its best season ever, and losing 3-1 in the finals to a Giant team like Riyadi is an honor to them. The team's administration worked hard in the past season to see Mouttahid in the final, and they surely got what they deserved, and went one step further in scoring a surprise win over Riyadi, but at the end of the day, all has to fall back in the right track and Riyadi set all teams straight and in place and stepped up, and resumed the summit of the Lebanese Basketball arena.
Fouad Abou Chakra's men were up to the expectations and challenge… and Hussein Tawbi Joe Vogel, Ali Mahmoud, Ace Custis and Ismail Ahmad started the 4th game in Tripoli. The first quarter kicked off with caution from both teams, Ali Mahmoud opened the score sheet after a minute and a half, followed by a threepointer from Custis… but Mouttahid's Kelly was there to close the gap and put his team in the front at the end of the Q1 (21-18). In the second quarter, Riyadi's men were unable to hit Mouttahid's basket for 4 full minutes and the latter were able to increase the gap to 8 pts (26-18), but an uprise from the Yellow team helped them close the gap to 2 pts at half time (33-31). Mouttahid was still fighting up to the 5th minute in the 3rd quarter, but Ismail Ahmad had a different say, and turned the table around, ending that third quarter with his team in the driver's seat (52-48). The experience and determination of Riyadi's Men was a valuable asset in the fourth quarter, as they knew how to control the tempo of the game and ended with an unforgettable win, honoring them with their 20th title in history and the 4th in a row! Riyadi knocked out Mouttahid once and for all, (71-66).
The best scorers in Riyadi were Ismail Ahmad (20 pts), Ali Mahmoud (19 pts), Ace Custis (14 pts), Joe Vogel (13 pts), and Hussein Tawbi (5 pts). Kelly was the best in Mouttahid with 20 pts, in front of Brian Bchara with 18 pts, and Norman Nolan with 13 pts. On behalf of Riyadifans.com and its members, and all Riyadi fans around the globe, we would like to congratulate our heroes from players to coaching staff and administration and all those who contributed to this achievement and urge them to enjoy the win, but keep an eye on next year, as the stakes are high, and our hunger for more achievements is beyond limit. Let us all celebrate the win, but not forget our failures, and that we still have a lot… a lot… of work to do … Reaching the #1 spot is a lot easier that maintaining it. Congratulations to ALL Riyadi fans !!!!!! |
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| Al-Riyadi gained its momentum again and outplayed Mouttahed in a game that did not reach the happy ending | |
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| | | Riyadi was back on the right track in game 3 of the Lebanese Championship final series and put Mouttahid back in place in an encounter where the Champions of Lebanon showed high caliber and advanced skills that entertained the numerous number of fans who gathered to stand by their team and players in time when they needed it the most. However, the beautiful night did not reach the happy ending as some outliers from the fans started chanting unnecessary and very offensive political slogans that were out of place completely, triggering a reaction - or an over-reaction from the security men which lead to a Chaos in court and pushed the Lebanese Federation to stop the game and send the fans out of the court. At that time, Riyadi was maintaining its comfortable lead of 23 pts (76-53). However, when the court was emptied out, Mouttahid's coach chose to withdraw from the game just 4 minutes before the final buzzer, causing his team to lose (20-0) according to the FLBB rules. The fourth game is expected to be played on Saturday at 8.45 p.m. in Tripoli. |
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| A very exciting Final : Riyadi - Moutahed : 1-1 | |
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| | | The Lebanese First Division Championship Finals are on , and the intensity which was during the season was intensified in the Finals , Riyadi - Beirut the champions for the past 3 seasons is playing a new face in the Finals , Moutahed - Tripoli .
The series is expected to be very unpredictable , Riyadi who have started the series with a home win made all the critics believe that this year final too will be an easy ride to retain the prestigious title after the first win on the score of
The team from the North had a different point of view in the second game in Triploi , the players , the staff and the fans had one thing in their mind 'Victory ' , Riyadi started the game dominating and controlling the tempo , but the home team had always the appropriate answer to stay close ,The score at the half was 23-28.
The second half started and the game continued to be more exciting one , Moutahed outscored Riyadi in this quarter 22 to 17 to tie the game at the end of the third 45-45.
In the fourth Riyadi tried to push in the beginning but couldn't match the home team tempo who managed to cruise into a historical win on the score of 70-52 to tie the series 1-1 and to stop the wining streak of Riyadi.
The two teams will meet again on Wednesday in Riyadi's home court , the winner will be one step away from winning the Lebanese League.
Q1: 17-19 Q2:6-9 Q3:22-17 Q4:25-7
Best Performances :
Moutahed : Darren Kelly (21pts ) , Norman Nolan (18pts)
Riyadi : Joseph Vogel (26pts) , Adrian Custis (17pts) |
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| Asia-Basket.com All-Lebanese League Awards 2007-08 | |
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| All-League 1st Team 2007-08 |
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Ismail |
Fahed |
Kelly |
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