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3. Basketball: Beirut Club and Riyadi Deliver, Sagesse Scrapes Through, Champville Falters

A high-pressure day for the big names of Lebanese basketball, filled with offensive blowouts, intense overtimes and XXL performances.

The favorites held their ground during the 13^th round of the Lebanese basketball championship, though some struggled. While Beirut Club and Riyadi handled business at home, Sagesse trembled until the final moments against Hoops. Champville, on the other hand, got edged out at the buzzer by a gritty Antranik team in a Hitchcock-worthy thriller.

Riyadi Dominates Club Central

At the Saïb Salam Arena in Manara, the reigning champion showed no weakness. By beating Club Central Jounieh 104-89, Riyadi Beirut secured its 12^th win in 13 games. Led by the evergreen Ismaïl Ahmad (17 points), the Yellow squad built their success on strong rebounding (51 total) and great free throw accuracy (15/18).

Cameron Young delivered 38 points for Club Central, but it wasn’t enough to stop the well-oiled Riyadi machine. Amir Saoud (13 pts, 6 rbds) and Wael Arakji (13 pts, 5 assists) efficiently distributed the ball, while Australian Thon Maker ruled the paint (12 pts, 14 rbds, 2 blocks).

Beirut Club Keeps Cruising

At their home court in Chiyah, Beirut Club solidified second place with a solid 84-71 win over Antonin Baabda. Despite missing key player Ali Haidar and having only two foreign players, coach Marwan Khalil’s team stood tall, powered by a fiery Ali Mezher who dropped a highlight triple-double: 16 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

Sergio El Darwich (17 pts) and Mark Khoury (12 pts) backed up their point guard in a match they dominated with intensity (48 rebounds to 35, 10 steals). On the other side, Patrick Bou Abboud (21 pts) and Michael Watkins (19 pts, 14 rbds) tried to keep it close, but to little effect.

Sagesse Claws Its Way Through in Overtime

In Ghazir, Sagesse had a scare. Facing a fearless Hoops team, the Beirut Greens had to dig deep into overtime to snatch a crucial 110-107 win. Man of the match? Haitian center Cady Lalanne, who posted a solid line (28 pts, 11 rbds, 3 blocks), with support from Gerard Hadidian (24 pts, 14 rbds) and Omar Jamaleddine (20 pts).

But what about AJ English? The American shooting guard for Hoops lit up the arena with 49 points, assisted by Dikembe Dixon (32 pts). Still, it wasn’t enough to upset a more composed Sagesse squad in crunch time.

Bottom-tier Clash: Antranik Stuns Champville

In Dik el Mehdi, Antranik pulled off a heist. On the road against Champville, the visitors snatched a 91-89 win in overtime, in a nail-biting game. Down by 10 at halftime, Antranik flipped the script thanks to a fiery American trio: Said Nelson (29 pts, 12 rbds, 7 ast), Anthony Criswell (20 pts) and Levi Bradley (19 pts).

Champville saw big performances from Henry Sims (26 pts, 14 rbds) and Karim Ezzedine (15 pts, 12 rbds), but it wasn’t enough. This marks their ninth loss of the season. The Metn club is sliding dangerously down the table, while Antranik climbs into playoff contention.

Homenetmen Escapes NSA

At their Mezher-Antelias court, Homenetmen had a scare but eventually prevailed over NSA (104-100). Led by the brilliant Jordan Stevens (40 points), the team had to battle hard to overcome a determined NSA squad, who was inspired by a monster triple-double from Daniel Hamilton (31 pts, 15 rbds, 12 ast).

Harajel Topples Mayrouba

In Zouk Mikael, Tadamon Harajel won the Keserwan heights derby against Union Mayrouba (94-76). Ghassan Sarkis’ squad started strong with a 25-14 first quarter and never let up.

Standings After Round 13

• Beirut Club – 12W-1L – 25 pts

• Al Riyadi – 12W-1L – 25 pts

• Sagesse SC – 11W-2L – 24 pts

• Antonine – 7W-6L – 20 pts

• Antranik – 7W-6L – 20 pts

• Homenetmen – 7W-6L – 20 pts

• Hoops – 6W-7L – 19 pts

• Champville – 4W-9L – 17 pts

• Mayrouba – 4W-9L – 17 pts

• Club Central – 4W-9L – 17 pts

• Tadamon Harajel – 3W-10L – 16 pts

• NSA – 1W-12L – 14 pts