For the first time in the club’s history, Al Riyadi of Beirut (Lebanon) lifted the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, the premier club basketball championship for men in Asia, after defeating two-time reigning champions Mahram Tehran (Iran) 91-82 on Sunday at the PhilSports Arena in Manila (Philippines). Al Riyadi finished the 22nd edition of this championship that was held from May 28th – June 5th with a perfect 7-0 record and the gold medal.Co-organised by Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (Basketball Federation of the Philippines) and FIBA Asia, the tournament pitted 10 of the best Asian club basketball teams against each other. Mahram Tehran, who were bidding for a three-peat after winning the 2009 and 2010 editions of the tournament, had to settle for silver in the final after losing to Al Riyadi.
The star of the show in the final was El Cheikh Fadi El Khatib, who scored a tournament-high 41 points to lead his team to victory. Jean Abd El Nour pitched in 32 for Al Riyadi in the Final. Mahram Tehran were led by M. Sadam Nikkhah Bahrami (28) and Christopher Williams (21). The team from Iran actually led by a point at the end of the third quarter, but Al Riyadi held their nerves to dominate the final quarter, make some crunch plays, and steal the win.Al Rayyan (Qatar) beat home team Smart Gilas (Philippines) 74-61 in the third-place game to win the bronze medal.
