Al Riyadi's first goal in repeat bid: Book outright WASL-West Asia semis berth

BEIRUT (Lebanon) - Booking an outright Semi-Final berth is the first goal of Al Riyadi in their bid to defend the FIBA WASL-West Asia League championship in Season 2.

"We're not wasting our energy on playing extra games," said Head Coach Ahmad Farran. "This is the target for the new season of WASL. Hopefully, we can achieve it."

“It's in our hands, it depends on us to finish in first position.”- Ahmad Farran, Head Coach, Al Riyadi

The Lebanese ball club wrote history by emerging as the first-ever West Asia League champions, but not before going through a tiring path.

Finishing as the no. 2 seed behind Iranian side Shahrdari Gorgan in Group B, the team was only good enough to qualify for the Qualification to Semi-Finals. They did get the job done, though, beating Orthodox Amman in the best-of-3 series that went the distance.

It proved to be the beginning of a golden run, which saw them beat inter-city rivals Beirut Club in the Semis before sweeping Gorgan in the finale to bag home the crown. 

No doubt that the success further added to their lore but that arduous journey took its toll on the players, for it made their 2022-23 campaign even busier.

Shortly after ruling WASL-West Asia, Al Riyadi completed their redemption tour in the Lebanese Basketball League, beating Dynamo to reclaim the gold they lost to Beirut Club the previous season.

The crew then headed to Dubai for the FIBA WASL Final 8, where they finished fourth after a promising start as they lost Ali Mansour and Wael Arakji one after the other due to leg injuries.

Thus, their motivation to make it to the WASL-West Asia semis by way of a direct flight ticket in the upcoming season to give themselves room to breathe.

"It was a long season for us last time," said Farran. "And this season, we want to avoid the mistake we committed in the beginning of [last] season so we can be in a better position."

To do so, Al Riyadi would need to top Group B, where they are slotted with three newcomers that impressed in their respective domestic leagues in the 2022-23 season.

Syrian Basketball League champions Al Wahdaa, Palestinian Basketball League titlists Orthodox Beit Sahour, and Iraqi Basketball League runners-up Al Shorta will be among the ball clubs looking to make a mark in their maiden appearance in FIBA's latest pan-regional competition.

"I think it's a good group for us," offered the champion bench tactician. "We are looking forward to our game against the champion of Syria, Al Wahdaa. It's very interesting to play in Syria in front of their crowds in the big stadium, so it's gonna be challenging."

"And now that we have a Palestinian team participating for the first time, and also Al Shorta from Iraq, it's gonna be challenging," added Farran, who returned to Al Riyadi earlier this year.

For Farran, it's all on him and his wards to reach their target.

"It's in our hands, it depends on us to finish in first position," he said.

"We are the favorites to finish in first position so this is what we want to work hard to achieve in order to book a spot in the semifinal of West Asia," Farran added.

FIBA