UAE / LIB - Wasl, first Emirates team to finish on podium

KUWAIT (FIBA Asia Champions Cup) - Al Wasl on Monday became the first team from United Arab Emirates to finish on the podium at the FIBA Asia Champions Cup. The Emirians achieved the feat defeating a deflated Al Riyadi Beirut 87-82 in the play-off for the third place at the 19th edition of the tournament on Monday.

Riyadi, who were returning to the Champions Cup after a decade, thus finished a step lower that they had at Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

Riyadi seemed to have shrugged the effects of the semifinal defeat in the initial moments. Joseph Vogel and Fadi El Khatib coordinated well and Riyadi were up 29-20 at the end of the first quarter.

But Wasl's Ivorian import Herve Lamizana, who had struggled to get past Vogel initially, began to find his feet and brought about a change in his side's fortunes. Wasl, riding on Lamizana's MVP effort - which was well supported by by Ibraheem Ahmad and Rashed Al-Zabi - outscored their opponents 21-15, 24-19, 22-19 in the next three quarters.

Lamizana top scored the game with 30 points, and nine rebounds.

"This is a glorious moment for Emirates basketball," said an excited Wasl coach Abdul Hameed Ibrahim.

"We came here as the underdogs, but have finished much higher than everybody expected," he said.

"We lost just one match in this tournament. Considering the field here that's quite an achievement for us," Ibrahim said.

"We beat three of the big names in the tournament. Losing to one of them (Al Rayyan of Qatar in the semifinals) was a learning experience for the boys. So overall we have gained a lot from the tournament," he added.

"It takes a lot of character to take to the court after last night," Riyadi coach Fuad Abu Chakra said.

"In that background, I think my team did rather well," he added.

Scores
Al Wasl, UAE 87 (Herve Lamizana 30, Ibraheem Ahmad 22, Rashed Al-Zaabi 15) bt Al Riyadi Beirut, Lebanon (Joseph Vogel 28, Fadi El Khatib 26, Tawbe Hussain 12).

Quarter Scores: 20-29, 41-44, 65-63.

S Mageshwaran
FIBA Asia