ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Nick West stepped up when needed the most to tow Al Riyadi past Al Ula Club, 82-78, to book a third straight trip to the FIBA WASL Final, Saturday night at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex.
The league veteran finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds, as the athletic winger was hustle personified down the stretch to help the reigning 2-time champs evade the jaws of defeat from the Arabian Leopards.
Their foes took a 1-point lead behind Mitch Creek's hook shot but then came West, who gave the upper hand back to the home team following a perfect trip to the free throw line - off a Creek foul - with 2:16 to go.
He would widen the lead to 3 by cleaning up Zach Lofton's miss from deep, and made it an 81-76 spread after another pair of shots from the stripe with 15.5 seconds left as he scored 6 straight to restore order.
Al Ula tried one last time but there was no denying Riyadi anymore, with Donovan Williams sealing the deal with a split from the line with exactly 8 seconds left to eventually get the first ticket to the Last Dance.
Now, they will wait for the winner between budding rivals Sagesse SC and Kuwait Club in the other Semi-Finals bracket to determine their opponents in the Final tomorrow, Sunday, October 4, at 20:45 local time.
"It's going to be a battle tomorrow, against any team who will reach the Final," said head coach Ahmad Farran. "The goal is to go and win. We have the motivation of doing the 'three-peat' ... it's gonna be a tough game."
Williams led Riyadi with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Lofton, healthy again after sitting out the last 2 games, finished with 21 and 7 assists as he kept the team in the fight during the fourth before West's late-game heroics.
Hayk Gyokchyan also had 12 points alongside 8 rebounds and 5 assists on his way to earning Capelli Sport Player of the Game honors, with Karim Zeinoun and Ali Mansour contributing significantly in the triumph.
"I believe we played our best game of the tournament so far," offered Farran, whose team finished with 21 assists against only 7 turnovers. "It took us time to catch our rhythm, but still we have plenty of room to improve."
Elijah Stewart, on the other hand, had 30 points to lead Al Ula. David Michineau backed him up with 19 points - albeit on 20 attempts - and 10 rebounds as the tandem played for the entirety of the ball game.
Michineau himself led the WASL-Gulf League side's hot start in the fourth, in which he scored 6 in an 8-0 run to take a 67-63 lead as momentum appeared to have swung in their favor after being down by 14 early.
Lofton, though, sparked Riyadi back with big hits from deep, with Zeinoun and Gyokchyan helping out to turn the game into a nip-and-tuck affair that saw the Arabian Leopards gradually lose steam in the end.
Mo Alsuwailem had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Saudi Arabian crew, who will face the losing team between the Green Castle and the Brigadiers in the Third-Place Game on Sunday as well for a podium finish.
FIBA