Beirut First Club crowned its first title as the Lebanese basketball champion, by defeating the defending Riyadi Beirut 4-3 following a seventh playoff match in the final round 79-62
(Rights 19-20, 39-29, 59-44, 79-63) In front of a large crowd that gathered at the Chiyah Municipal Sports Complex this evening.
Thus, Beirut has achieved the “double” this season, adding the league championship cup to the Lebanon Cup competition, which it also won at the expense of the Beirut sportsman.
Beirut compensated for his stumble twice in the Arab Club Championship final two seasons in a row once morest the Egyptian Federation of Alexandria, the second in its stronghold in Chiah.
The team deserved the title crowned by an administrative and technical effort, as the administration contracted with a technical staff and distinguished players. The team overcame the injury of its star, Wael Arakji. Prominent in its ranks tonight are Tunisian Saleh Mejri, Sergio Darwish, Gerard Hadidian and Elie Chamoun. Its members were able to implement several plans that confused their competitors, who relied on penetration under the basket through the Bosnian Alamuddin Kikanovic, so they settled the first quarter in their favour. However, Al-Riyadi players suffered from shooting from outside the arc and the middle distance in the second half, which allowed the owners of the land to advance by 11 points, 37-26.
The third quarter witnessed a clear superiority for the Beirut players, in return for the failure of the athlete’s scoring machine, so that the owners of the land moved away on their way to resolve the match and grab the most expensive title in the club’s history.
