ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Al Riyadi authored the latest chapter of the Beirut Derby in their favor following an 87-80 victory over Sagesse SC in the 2025-26 FIBA WASL-West Asia League on Wednesday night.
The Yellow Castle leaned on their troika of reinforcements down the stretch, with Perrin Buford knocking down the most important three of the night with 3:28 left as it put them up for good after a 74-all deadlock.
Ivan Buva and Maurice Kemp then came through to keep their rivals at bay, before Buford put the finishing touches himself as the crew showed poise anew just like what they did to succeed against Al Wahda SC.
As a result, the Lebanese powerhouse notched their second win in as many games, thus grabbing the provisional lead in the Sub-Zone League - indeed a solid position for a team that's still figuring things out.
"We are going to build on this win," said head coach Ahmad Farran when asked how crucial the win was to the kind of progress they're hoping to see. "Because it's a very important win for us, especially against our main rival."
Buford top-scored for Riyadi with 23 points, 14 of which he produced in the fourth quarter alone as he proved to be the stabilizer his team needed to complete their comeback after being down by as much as 11 early.
He shot 47.3-percent from the floor, including a 2-of-3 clip from beyond the arc, and also collected 6 rebounds alongside an assist, a steal, and a block each for a full line in the 37 minutes he saw action.
Kemp finished with 20 points behind an excellent 9-of-12 shooting from the field on top of 8 rebounds as he and Buford are now starting to find their niche within the squad following their solid performances.
Hayk Gyokchyan supplied 17 points. Ali Mansour did a bit of everything with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 13 assists plus 2 steals, while Buva chipped in 10 points and 5 rebounds as five players finished in twin digits.
With the triumph, Riyadi have also hiked their WASL head-to-head record against Sagesse to 8-1.
"I'm so proud of the record we have against Sagesse," said Farran, whose wards beat the same club to win their first WASL championship in 2024. "We will take this win as a positive push to improve more and more."
Youssef Khayat, on the other hand, had 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists to lead Sagesse, which fell to 0-2 following the loss. Erick Green made 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists while Ali Haidar had 15 points.
Makur Maker had 10 points and 10 rebounds as he and Green shared reinforcement duties with Tony Carr sidelined. Carr tallied 20 points and 8 rebounds against Gorgan last week and they definitely missed his services.
Sagesse will look to barge into the win column when they face BC Astana on the road next Wednesday, Nov. 19.
FIBA