LBL Round 12: Al Riyadi beats Beirut Club in a derby game

There were many interesting games last round. The round ended with derby games and favorites losing the games. Here is the last round review presented by ESL.

The most interesting game was a derby match between two local teams from Beirut: Al Riyadi (#1) and Beirut Club (#6). Beirut Club was defeated at home 64-72 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Beirut Club. The best player for the winners was forward Hayk Gyokchyan (203-90, college: F&M, agency: BIG) who had a double-double by scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds. The former international guard Amir Saoud (186-91) chipped in 23 points and 4 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international power forward Marwan Ziadeh (202-87) who recorded a double-double by scoring 18 points and 14 rebounds. Al Riyadi (8-1) have an impressive seven-game winning streak. They maintain first position. Beirut Club at the other side keeps the sixth place with four games lost.
Very important is a road loss of third ranked Atlas (6-3) against eighth ranked Byblos (3-6) on Wednesday night. Visiting Atlas were defeated by Byblos in a tough game in Byblos 69-73. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Atlas. It was a good game for Bechara Boustany who led his team to a victory with 21 points and 5 rebounds. Toufic Saker contributed with 17 points and 5 assists for the winners. Hicham El Helou replied with a double-double by scoring 17 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists for Atlas. Atlas' coach Brent Ragsdale rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Byblos moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Moutahed. Atlas at the other side dropped to the second position with three games lost. They share it with 3 other teams.
Very important is a road loss of second ranked Sagesse (6-3) against fifth ranked Champville (6-3) on Friday night. Visiting Sagesse was defeated by Champville in a tough game in Dik El Mehdi 78-86. Worth to mention a great performance of Elias Rustom who helped to win the game recording 25 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. The best for the losing side was Christophe Khalil with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Champville moved-up to second place, which they share with 3 other teams including defeated Sagesse.
Bottom-ranked Anibal (0-9) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 85-67 loss to ninth ranked Homentmen (2-7) in Zahle. The winners were led by Bassel Takieddine who had that evening a double-double by scoring 23 points and 19 rebounds. Homentmen maintains ninth position with 2-7 record. Anibal at the other side still closes the standings with nine games lost.
The game in Tripoli was also quite interesting. Fourth ranked Hoops (6-3) played at the court of 7th ranked Moutahed (3-6). Hoops defeated Moutahed 67-57 on Friday. The best player for the winners was Gabriel Salibi who scored 14 points and 9 rebounds. Hoops' coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Hoops moved-up to second place, which they share with 3 other teams. Moutahed lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the seventh position with six games lost.

Byblos - Atlas 73-69

Very important is a road loss of third ranked Atlas (6-3) against eighth ranked Byblos (3-6) on Wednesday night. Visiting Atlas were defeated by Byblos in a tough game in Byblos 69-73. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Atlas. Strangely Atlas outrebounded Byblos 48-35 including a 20-8 advantage in offensive rebounds. It was a good game for Bechara Boustany who led his team to a victory with 21 points and 5 rebounds. Forward Toufic Saker (182-99) contributed with 17 points and 5 assists for the winners. Four Byblos players scored in double figures. Hicham El Helou replied with a double-double by scoring 17 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists and forward Marc Abi Kheres (197-94) added 11 points and 12 rebounds in the effort for Atlas. Atlas' coach Brent Ragsdale rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Byblos moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Moutahed. Atlas at the other side dropped to the second position with three games lost. They share it with 3 other teams.
Top scorers:
Atlas: E.Helou Hicham 17+12reb+5ast, K.Mohamad 13+2reb, M.Abi-Kheres 11+12reb+2ast, O.Kaissy 8+4reb+3ast, J.Zaloum 7+7reb+6ast, K.Amir 6+1reb
Byblos: B.Bechara 21+5reb+1ast, T.Saker 17+4reb+5ast, K.Assi 13+4reb+3ast, S.Mohamad 10+8reb+2ast, A.Ziad El 8+9reb+2ast, M.Abdo 4+4reb+1ast

Beirut Club - Al Riyadi 64-72

The most interesting game was a derby match between two local teams from Beirut: Al Riyadi (#1) and Beirut Club (#6). Beirut Club was defeated at home 64-72 and even the fact of playing on their own court did not help. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Beirut Club. The best player for the winners was forward Hayk Gyokchyan (203-90, college: F&M, agency: BIG) who had a double-double by scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds. The former international guard Amir Saoud (186-91) chipped in 23 points and 4 assists. Four Al Riyadi players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international power forward Marwan Ziadeh (202-87) who recorded a double-double by scoring 18 points and 14 rebounds and the former international point guard Rodrigue Akl (187-88) added 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists respectively. Al Riyadi (8-1) have an impressive seven-game winning streak. They maintain first position. Beirut Club at the other side keeps the sixth place with four games lost.
Top scorers:
Beirut Club: M.Ziadeh 18+14reb+1ast, R.Akl 14+5reb+4ast, G.El Beyrouty 11+7reb+2ast, J.Abdel Massih 8+5reb, E.Chamoun 6+2reb+5ast, A.Kopaly 5+1reb
Al Riyadi: A.Saoud 23+3reb+4ast, H.Gyokchyan 18+12reb+1ast, A.Mansour 12+3reb+4ast, K.Zeinoun 11+8reb+3ast, J.Abdel Nour 6+6reb+1ast, M.Khoury 2+6reb+2ast

Anibal - Homentmen 67-85

Bottom-ranked Anibal (0-9) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 85-67 loss to ninth ranked Homentmen (2-7) in Zahle. Homentmen outrebounded Anibal 59-37 including a 26-9 advantage in offensive rebounds. The winners were led by guard Bassel Takieddine (-0) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 23 points and 19 rebounds and forward Karim Jadayel (191-92) supported him with 19 points and 5 assists. Even a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds by Andre Tannoury (195-1) did not help to save the game for Anibal. Bechara Saba added 10 points and 8 rebounds. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Homentmen maintains ninth position with 2-7 record. Anibal at the other side still closes the standings with nine games lost.
Top scorers:
Anibal: A.Tannoury 17+10reb+1ast, M.Christopher 13+5reb+2ast, S.Daoud 10+2reb+2ast, S.Bechara 10+8reb+2ast, T.Ghassan 6+3reb, H.Georges 6+5reb
Homentmen: T.Bassel 23+19reb, K.Jadayel 19+3reb+5ast, D.Nader 13+4reb+1ast, Z.Karl 12+5reb+8ast, B.Omar El 11+8reb+1ast, C.Saad 6+13reb+1ast

Moutahed - Hoops 57-67

The game in Tripoli was also quite interesting. Fourth ranked Hoops (6-3) played at the court of 7th ranked Moutahed (3-6). Hoops defeated Moutahed 67-57 on Friday. The best player for the winners was naturalized French guard Gabriel Salibi (203, college: Northeastern St., agency: BIG) who scored 14 points and 9 rebounds. Guard Georges Choueiry (184-95) chipped in 19 points. Hoops' coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was Ibrahim Haddad (-98) who recorded 18 points and 7 rebounds and guard Malek Hijazi (190-94, college: West LA) added 16 points and 7 rebounds respectively. Hoops moved-up to second place, which they share with 3 other teams. Moutahed lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the seventh position with six games lost.
Top scorers:
Moutahed: I.Haddad 18+7reb+2ast, M.Hijazi 16+7reb+2ast, A.Ramzi 10+4reb, W.Zeidan 4+1ast, Z.Hassan 3, G.Elio 2
Hoops: G.Choueiry 19+2reb+1ast, G.Salibi 14+9reb+1ast, Y.Ghantous 13+5reb+1ast, H.Abdallah 8+3reb+1ast, N.Hachem 7+4reb, K.Aoun 5+11reb+3ast

Champville - Sagesse 86-78

Very important is a road loss of second ranked Sagesse (6-3) against fifth ranked Champville (6-3) on Friday night. Visiting Sagesse was defeated by Champville in a tough game in Dik El Mehdi 78-86. Worth to mention a great performance of the former international swingman Elias Rustom (197-87) who helped to win the game recording 25 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and international power forward Karim Ezzeddine (206-97, college: N.Mexico, agency: BIG) who added 14 points and 7 rebounds during the contest. The best for the losing side was Christophe Khalil with 22 points and 8 rebounds and point guard Marc Khoueiry (185-1) produced a double-double by scoring 11 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Champville moved-up to second place, which they share with 3 other teams including defeated Sagesse.
Top scorers:
Sagesse: K.Christophe 22+8reb, A.Mezher 15+3reb+7ast, T.Makhlouf 11+13reb, M.Khoueiry 11+11reb+4ast, R.Fahed 10+2reb+4ast, H.Mike 5+4reb+3ast
Champville: E.Rustom 25+6reb+5ast, J.Chartouny 16+3reb+4ast, K.Ezzeddine 14+7reb+3ast, J.Bitar 13+4reb, R.Akl 11+8reb+4ast, M.Martinez 5+2reb+2ast



Tags : HAYK GYOKCHYAN, SPORTING AL RIYADI BEIRUT, LEBANESE BASKETBALL