LBL Round 1: Atlas lose to Sagesse

The Regular Season in LBL just started. The round was rather attractive and full of interesting results. The round ended with change at the leadership position and favorites losing the games. Here is the last round review presented by ESL.

The biggest surprise of round 1 in LBL took place in Beirut where host Sagesse edged Atlas 76-74 on Sunday evening. Sagesse forced 19 Atlas turnovers. The former international swingman Nadim Souaid (192-86, agency: BIG) fired 32 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. International point guard Ali Mezher (182-94) chipped in 15 points and 10 assists. Forward Marc Abi Kheres (197-94) produced a double-double by scoring 16 points and 17 rebounds for lost side. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Beirut Club smashed Anibal at home 102-52. Worth to mention a great performance of Georges Beirouty who helped to win the game recording 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals. Patrick Bou Abboud contributed with 20 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Beirut Club's coach felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Andre Tannoury (195-1) answered with 9 points and 9 rebounds for Anibal. Anibal will have a break next week, which should allow them to rest in order to get back on the winning path. Beirut Club will try to continue on its current victory against Moutahed at Tripoli.
Champville recorded a loss in Zahle on Friday night. Visitors were edged by Atlas 78-77. Marc Abi Kheres stepped up with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 14 rebounds for the winners. At the losing side Elias Rustom responded with 22 points and 5 rebounds. Atlas will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Champville will play against Hoops and hope to win that game.
We should not miss the game where Moutahed against Homentmen where guest Moutahed crushed their opponents by twenty two points 66-44. Ibrahim Haddad nailed 16 points and 7 rebounds for the winning side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Moutahed's next round opponent will be Beirut Club at home and it will be for sure the game of the week. Homentmen will play against Byblos and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
And finally the game worth to mention about is the one where Hoops rolled over Byblos in a home game by 19 points 77-58 on Friday evening. Habib Abdallah fired a double-double by scoring 26 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. Hoops will face Champville in Dik El Mehdi in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Byblos will play at home against Homentmen and hope to win that game.

Atlas - Champville 78-77

Champville recorded a loss in Zahle on Friday night. Visitors were edged by Atlas 78-77. Forward Marc Abi Kheres (197-94) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 14 rebounds for the winners and point guard Joseph Zaloum (180-90) chipped in 19 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. At the losing side the former international swingman Elias Rustom (197-87) responded with 22 points and 5 rebounds and international Aziz Abdel Massih (192-96) scored 19 points and 7 rebounds. Atlas will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Champville will play against Hoops and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Atlas: M.Abi Kheres 20+14reb+1ast, J.Zaloum 19+6reb+8ast, K.Mohamad 16+1reb+3ast, E.Helou Hicham 9+11reb+3ast, S.Elias 5+1reb, K.Mansour 4
Champville: E.Rustom 22+5reb+3ast, A.Abdel Massih 19+7reb, M.Martinez 11+2reb+5ast, R.Akl 9+4reb+1ast, J.Bitar 8+4reb+1ast, N.Hawi 4+10reb+3ast

Hoops - Byblos 77-58

And finally the game worth to mention about is the one where Hoops rolled over Byblos in a home game by 19 points 77-58 on Friday evening. Hoops forced 30 Byblos turnovers. International Habib Abdallah fired a double-double by scoring 26 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. Guard Youssef Ghantous (191-96) chipped in 9 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Bechara Boustany produced 17 points and 7 rebounds and Ziad El Ali added 14 points and 5 rebounds respectively for lost side. Hoops will face Champville in Dik El Mehdi in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Byblos will play at home against Homentmen and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Hoops: H.Abdallah 26+13reb+4ast, G.Salibi 13+2reb+5ast, Y.Ghantous 9+6reb+6ast, S.Jason 8+5reb+1ast, M.Fadi 8+5reb+1ast, K.Aoun 7+7reb+1ast
Byblos: B.Bechara 17+7reb+1ast, A.Ziad El 14+5reb, T.Hawchar 8+8reb, K.Assi 6+3reb+4ast, A.Ibrahim 5+7reb+2ast, S.Mohamad 4+5reb+1ast

Beirut Club - Anibal 102-52

Beirut Club smashed Anibal at home 102-52. Beirut Club dominated down low during the game scoring 66 of its points in the paint compared to Anibal's 20. They outrebounded Anibal 53-26 including a 22-6 advantage in offensive rebounds. Beirut Club players were unselfish on offense dishing 32 assists comparing to just 13 passes made by Anibal's players. Worth to mention a great performance of Georges Beirouty who helped to win the game recording 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals. The former international forward Patrick Bou Abboud (199-87) contributed with 20 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Four Beirut Club players scored in double figures. Beirut Club's coach felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Andre Tannoury (195-1) answered with 9 points and 9 rebounds and guard Simon Daoud (182-85) added 11 points and 5 rebounds in the effort for Anibal. Anibal will have a break next week, which should allow them to rest in order to get back on the winning path. Beirut Club will try to continue on its current victory against Moutahed at Tripoli.
Top scorers:
Beirut Club: P.Bou Abboud 20+6reb+2ast, B.Georges 18+7reb+7ast, M.Ziadeh 12+8reb+1ast, A.Kopaly 12+5reb+3ast, A.Joel 11+8reb+4ast, H.Ghassan 10+4reb+2ast
Anibal: S.Daoud 11+5reb+1ast, M.Tarek 10, A.Tannoury 9+9reb+2ast, R.Rizk 9+2reb+2ast, M.Christopher 4+4reb+2ast, A.Andraoss 3+3reb+5ast

Homentmen - Moutahed 44-66

We should not miss the game where Moutahed against Homentmen where guest Moutahed crushed their opponents by twenty two points 66-44. Ibrahim Haddad (-98) nailed 16 points and 7 rebounds for the winning side and guard Malek Hijazi (190-94, college: West LA) accounted for 17 points and 5 rebounds. Karl Zaloum came up with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and Ralph Prince added 1 points and 14 rebounds respectively for Homentmen in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Moutahed's next round opponent will be Beirut Club at home and it will be for sure the game of the week. Homentmen will play against Byblos and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Moutahed: M.Hijazi 17+5reb+3ast, I.Haddad 16+7reb+2ast, W.Zeidan 11+1reb, A.Ramzi 9+11reb, G.Elio 7+4reb+1ast, S.Rayan 4+1reb+1ast
Homentmen: Z.Karl 11+5reb+4ast, B.Omar El 10+2reb, H.Refaat 6+5reb+1ast, T.Bassel 5+6reb, K.Varak 4+9reb, K.Jadayel 3+2reb

Sagesse - Atlas 76-74

The biggest surprise of round 1 in LBL took place in Beirut where host Sagesse edged Atlas 76-74 on Sunday evening. Sagesse forced 19 Atlas turnovers. The former international swingman Nadim Souaid (192-86, agency: BIG) fired 32 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. International point guard Ali Mezher (182-94) chipped in a double-double by scoring 15 points and 10 assists. Forward Marc Abi Kheres (197-94) produced a double-double by scoring 16 points and 17 rebounds and point guard Joseph Zaloum (180-90) added 18 points respectively for lost side. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Sagesse: N.Souaid 32+5reb, A.Mezher 15+3reb+10ast, S.Michel 10+4reb, K.Christophe 10+9reb, H.Mike 5+6reb, R.Fahed 4+2reb+2ast
Atlas: J.Zaloum 18+4reb+3ast, M.Abi Kheres 16+17reb+3ast, E.Helou Hicham 15+6reb+2ast, S.Elias 10+2reb, K.Mohamad 6+1reb+2ast, O.Kaissy 4+5reb+5ast



Tags : NADIM SOUAID, SAGESSE - AL HEKMEH BEIRUT, LEBANESE BASKETBALL