ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Championship poise came into play right away as Al Riyadi finished strong to thwart Al Wahda SC, 89-80, and begin their FIBA WASL title defense on a high note, Thursday night.
Bilal Tabbara knocked down the most important three-pointer of the night, before Perrin Buford struck the dagger through a cold-blooded pull-up jumper to push their lead to 87-80 with 24.5 seconds remaining.
Maurice Kemp then went on to provide the exclamation point, slamming an unmolested two-handed jam with less than six seconds left as the Yellow Castle finished the game with a 7-0 run to foil their foes' upset bid.
"Ugly, but thank God we won," exhaled head coach Ahmad Farran. "We showed character ... I'm very proud of my players. And hopefully, we come into the next game with better character, and a better level of basketball."
Buford top-scored for the reigning three-time WASL-West Asia League champions with 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor, alongside 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks for an efficiency of 35.
Ivan Buva finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds as he and Buford joined hands for the crucial 7-0 run that turned a two-point deficit to a 76-71 lead with 5:40 remaining in the fourth, which put them ahead permanently.
Karim Zeinoun delivered 15 points as well, while Tabbara and Hayk Gyokchyan added 11 apiece for a practically new Riyadi team that's bidding to defend their WASL titles without the help of Wael Arakji and Thon Maker.
"As you know, it's a different team from the last three years. And every time we go into this championship as the defending champions, there's pressure. Everyone wants to beat us. But we live with it," Farran said.
Al Riyadi will take on Sagesse SC next on Wednesday, November 12, 20:45 local time, still at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex, taking on a team hoping to get win no. 1 after bowing to Shahrdari Gorgan barely 24 hours ago.
Leading the Syrian champions, on the other hand, was James Justice, Jr., who finished with a game-high 37 points on 6-of-11 shooting from rainbow distance alongside 6 rebounds as he tried to carry the fight for his crew.
He was actually responsible for putting Al Wahda ahead, 71-69, following a perfect trip to the free throw line with 6:23 to go, until Buford and Buva erased as much with the aforementioned rally for the home team.
Justice was also key in their fightback bid in the game's final moments, when he dished the long pass that led to a Maiar Albalbisi trifecta that put themselves to within two points, 82-80, with 1:19 to spare.
But then, the Lebanese powerhouse were much steadier as a collective, with Tabbara answering back with a triple of his own 12 seconds later before Buford and Kemp applied the finishing touches to secure the W.
Falando Jones made 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. Albalbisi added 11 for the comebacking Al Wahda, who will try to get their first win of the season against Gorgan on November 20, Thursday, in Tehran.
FIBA