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| Al Riyadi gets to bring this home (image from FIBAAsia.net) |
CHAMPION: Al Riyadi (LIB)
2nd: Mahram (IRN)
3rd: Al Rayyan (QAT)
4th: Smart-Gilas (PHL)
5th: ASU (JOR)
6th: Al Jala'a (SYR)
7th: Al Ittihad (KSA)
8th: Duhok (IRQ)
9th (Tied): Al Shabab (UAE) and WKL Dragons (MAS)
Speeding Bullets:
- Smart-Gilas continues to be medal-less in the Champions Cup, getting beaten by a more athletic Al Rayyan five. It's a good sign, though, that Gilas remained competitive all throughout the tourney. Adding Jimmy Alapag and Kelly Williams will definitely help their shooting and athleticism.
- The Qataris finish 3rd yet again. It cements them as a force in the region, but they have yet to dominate the way the Iranians and Lebanese have.
- Samad Nikkhah Bahrami got shut down in the 4th quarter of the gold medal match. He was still very prolific, but lost a second head-to-head match-up with Fadi El Khatib. The next time they face each other could be at the Jones Cup or the FIBA-Asia Men's tourney later in the year.
- The Lebanese Tiger torched the hoops for 41 big points, punctuating a superb all-around performance by Al Riyadi in the tournament. The club finished without any losses, 7-0, en route to their first ever Champions Cup title, and the they also snapped Iran's 4-year stranglehold on the league championship.
Results:
Al Ittihad (KSA) over Duhok (IRQ), 104-95
Al Ittihad (KSA) 104 -- Dragajlovic 28, Al Maghrabi 24, Al Juhani 17, Al Madani 16, Al Harbi 10, Kabe 7, Kelly 2Duhok (IRQ) 95 -- Gray 30, Al Doori 19, Gorgiss 16, Al Tameemi 8, Giles 7, Mahdi D. 6, Hamad 5, Mahdi S. 4, Al Juboori 0
Quarter scoring: 29-21, 58-41, 78-70, 104-95
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| Iraq's Ali Hamad goes baseline (image from FIBAAsia.net) |
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| Adil Al Juhani is covered by Jenero Gorgiss (image from FIBAAsia.net) |
ASU (JOR) over Al Jala'a (SYR), 72-65
ASU (JOR) 72 -- Soobzokov 19, Watkins 16, Al Sous 15, Abbas 9, Al Hamarsheh 4, Abbaas 4, Dahglas 3, Mohammad 2, Al Najjar 0
Al Jala'a (SYR) 65 -- Miller 16, Yaqqub 15, Haj Ishak 10, Madanly 8, Gorges 5, Yakoub 5, Papazian 4, Deeb 2
Quarter scoring: 11-17, 24-38, 42-47, 72-65
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| Sam Dahglas played sparingly in the match (image from FIBAAsia.net) |
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| Zaid Abbas fights for the rebound (image from FIBAAsia.net) |
Al Rayyan (QAT) over Smart-Gilas (PHL), 71-64
Al Rayyan (QAT) 71 -- Leslie 19, Ngombo 18, Musa 11, Cuffee 9, Saeed 5, Salem 4, Ali 4, Ndour 1, Malek 0
Smart-Gilas (PHL) 64 -- Douthit 28, Casio 10, Aguilar 8, Lassiter 7, Baracael 5, Barroca 2, Tiu 2, Lutz 2, Taulava 0, Hontiveros 0
Quarter scoring: 17-15, 36-33, 50-46, 71-64
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| Yaseen Musa slices and dices (image from FIBAAsia.net) |
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| Chauncey Leslie schools Jayvee Casio (image from FIBAAsia.net) |
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| Musa and Asi Taulava mix it up (image from FIBAAsia.net) |
Al Riyadi (LIB) over Mahram (IRN), 91-82
Al Riyadi (LIB) 91 -- El Khatib 41, Abd El Nour 21, Ismail 11, Woods 8, Mahmoud 7, El Turk 3
Mahram (IRN) 82 -- Bahrami 28, Williams 21, Samb 11, Kamrani 9, Afagh 8, Davari 3, Rouzbahani 2, Davoudi 0, Sahakian 0, Kardoust 0
Quarter scoring: 17-14, 38-39, 57-58, 91-82
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| Samad Nikkhah Bahrami led the Iranians anew (image from FIBAAsia.net) |
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| Fadi El Khatib saved his best performance for last (image from FIBAAsia.net) |
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