LBL Round 13: Byblos beat Hoops by three after a very close game

Here is the last round review presented by ESL.

The most exciting game of round 13 in the LBL took place in Byblos. This derby game ended with only three-point defeat on the road of much higher ranked Hoops (6-4) to eighth ranked Byblos (4-6) 72-69 on Wednesday evening. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Hoops. Byblos forced 23 Hoops turnovers. Worth to mention a great performance of Mohamad Skaf who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 18 points and 13 rebounds. Forward Toufic Saker (182-99) contributed with 19 points for the winners. Guard Youssef Ghantous (191-96) answered with 22 points for Hoops. Hoops' coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Byblos moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Moutahed. Hoops at the other side dropped to the fourth position with four games lost. They share it with Beirut Club and Sagesse. Byblos is looking forward to face Homentmen (#9) in Beirut in the next round. Hoops will play at home against Champville (#3) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Beirut: Al Riyadi (#1) and Sagesse (#2). Al Riyadi (9-1) crushed visiting Sagesse (6-4) by 30 points 94-64. The former international guard Amir Saoud (186-91) stepped up and scored 28 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners and Jean Abdel Nour chipped in 10 points and 8 rebounds. Al Riyadi's coach George Geagea felt very confident that he used 11 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the losing side Christophe Khalil responded with a double-double by scoring 15 points and 11 rebounds. Al Riyadi have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain first place with 9-1 record. Sagesse at the other side dropped to the fourth position with four games lost. They share it with Beirut Club and Hoops. Al Riyadi will play against bottom-ranked Anibal (#10) in Zahle in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Sagesse will play on the road against the league's second-placed Atlas (#2) in Zahle and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Bottom-ranked Anibal is still unable to win any game. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their tenth consecutive match to sixth ranked Beirut Club (6-4) 82-59 on Monday evening. Naim Rabay nailed a double-double by scoring 18 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks for the winning side. Andre Tannoury came up with 21 points for Anibal 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. Beirut Club moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Sagesse and Hoops. Anibal lost their tenth game in a row. They still close the standings with ten games lost. Beirut Club will meet at home Moutahed (#7) in the next round. Anibal will play against the league's leader Al Riyadi and hopes to get finally their first victory.

In the last game of round 13 Homentmen was smashed by Moutahed on the road 97-73.

Al Riyadi - Sagesse 94-64

Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Beirut: Al Riyadi (#1) and Sagesse (#2). Al Riyadi (9-1) crushed visiting Sagesse (6-4) by 30 points 94-64. The former international guard Amir Saoud (186-91) stepped up and scored 28 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners and the former international swingman Jean Abdel Nour (198-83) chipped in 10 points and 8 rebounds. Al Riyadi's coach George Geagea felt very confident that he used 11 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the losing side Christophe Khalil responded with a double-double by scoring 15 points and 11 rebounds and point guard Marc Khoueiry (185-1) scored 13 points and 8 rebounds. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Al Riyadi have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain first place with 9-1 record. Sagesse at the other side dropped to the fourth position with four games lost. They share it with Beirut Club and Hoops. Al Riyadi will play against bottom-ranked Anibal (#10) in Zahle in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Sagesse will play on the road against the league's second-placed Atlas (#2) in Zahle and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Al Riyadi: A.Saoud 28+6reb+4ast, K.Zeinoun 13+3reb+5ast, M.Khoury 11+4reb+1ast, G.Hadidian 11+6reb, J.Abdel Nour 10+8reb+3ast, H.Gyokchyan 9+8reb+2ast
Sagesse: K.Christophe 15+11reb, H.Mike 13+2reb+1ast, M.Khoueiry 13+8reb+3ast, T.Makhlouf 13+5reb+1ast, J.Nemer 4+3reb+1ast, S.Michel 4+3reb

Anibal - Beirut Club 59-82

Bottom-ranked Anibal is still unable to win any game. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their tenth consecutive match to sixth ranked Beirut Club (6-4) 82-59 on Monday evening. Beirut Club dominated down low during the game scoring 58 of its points in the paint compared to Anibal's 30. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Beirut Club made 8 blocks. Center Naim Rabay (206, college: Weatherford JC) nailed a double-double by scoring 18 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks for the winning side and international guard Georges El Beyrouty (193-99) accounted for 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Andre Tannoury (195-1) came up with 21 points and Bechara Saba added 7 points and 13 rebounds respectively for Anibal 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. Beirut Club moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Sagesse and Hoops. Anibal lost their tenth game in a row. They still close the standings with ten games lost. Beirut Club will meet at home Moutahed (#7) in the next round. Anibal will play against the league's leader Al Riyadi and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Beirut Club: E.Chamoun 19+1ast, N.Rabay 18+12reb+1ast, G.El Beyrouty 16+6reb+5ast, M.Ziadeh 8+5reb, R.Akl 8+6reb+9ast, K.Mechref 6+3reb+3ast
Anibal: A.Tannoury 21+4reb+1ast, M.Christopher 10+1reb+3ast, S.Bechara 7+13reb+3ast, M.Tarek 6+3reb+3ast, H.Georges 5+6reb+1ast, T.Ghassan 4+7reb+2ast

Moutahed - Homentmen 97-73

No shocking result in a game when seventh ranked Moutahed (4-6) crushed 9th ranked Homentmen (2-8) in Tripoli 97-73 on Tuesday. Moutahed forced 19 Homentmen turnovers. Ibrahim Haddad (-98) nailed 24 points and 9 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field) for the winning side and guard Malek Hijazi (190-94, college: West LA) accounted for 15 points and 4 assists. Four Moutahed players scored in double figures. Karl Zaloum came up with 28 points and 4 assists and forward Karim Jadayel (191-92) added 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists respectively for Homentmen in the defeat. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Moutahed maintains seventh place with 4-6 record, which they share with Byblos. Loser Homentmen keeps the ninth position with eight games lost. Moutahed will meet higher ranked Beirut Club (#5) on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Homentmen will play against Byblos (#8) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Moutahed: I.Haddad 24+9reb+2ast, A.Ramzi 16+4reb+2ast, M.Hijazi 15+4reb+4ast, W.Zeidan 10, G.Elio 10+4reb+3ast, H.Jad 8+1reb
Homentmen: Z.Karl 28+3reb+4ast, K.Jadayel 21+8reb+5ast, D.Nader 6+7reb+3ast, C.Saad 6+1reb, H.Refaat 4+7reb+2ast, H.Toufic 4+3reb+1ast

Byblos - Hoops 72-69

The most exciting game of round 13 in the LBL took place in Byblos. This derby game ended with only three-point defeat on the road of much higher ranked Hoops (6-4) to eighth ranked Byblos (4-6) 72-69 on Wednesday evening. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Hoops. Byblos forced 23 Hoops turnovers. Worth to mention a great performance of Mohamad Skaf who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 18 points and 13 rebounds. Forward Toufic Saker (182-99) contributed with 19 points for the winners. Guard Youssef Ghantous (191-96) answered with 22 points and guard Georges Choueiry (184-95) added 15 points in the effort for Hoops. Hoops' coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Byblos moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Moutahed. Hoops at the other side dropped to the fourth position with four games lost. They share it with Beirut Club and Sagesse. Byblos is looking forward to face Homentmen (#9) in Beirut in the next round. Hoops will play at home against Champville (#3) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Byblos: T.Saker 19+1reb+3ast, S.Mohamad 18+13reb+2ast, B.Bechara 15+5reb+1ast, K.Assi 9+2reb+8ast, A.Ziad El 7+7reb+1ast, M.Abdo 4+1ast
Hoops: Y.Ghantous 22+2reb+3ast, G.Choueiry 15+4reb+2ast, H.Abdallah 10+2reb+2ast, N.Hachem 9+5reb+2ast, S.Jason 5+2reb+1ast, G.Salibi 4+4reb+5ast



Tags : YOUSSEF GHANTOUS, HOOPS CLUB, LEBANESE BASKETBALL