Screenshot from MTV Lebanon YouTube Channel
Al Riyadi Lebanon defeated Strong Group Realty Philippines, 106-97 in the knockout quarterfinals of the 2023 Dubai International Basketball Championship on Thursday, February 2 (early Friday morning, PHL time) at the Al-Nasr Club Hall in Dubai, UAE.
Al Riyadi advances to the semifinals while the Strong Group ended their campaign with loss. Amir Saoud erupted for huge 41 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the field including 7-of-12 from beyond the arc and perfect 6-of-6 from the line to go with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 38 minutes of play.
Import Dominic Johnson with a solid game of 23 points (8/13fg, 2/6 3pts, 5/6ft) along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals while Wael Arakji added 13 points (4/12fg, 1/6 3pts, 4/7ft), 4 assists and a steal.
Shabazz Muhammad paced the Strong Group with 27 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and a block in the losing effort while Renaldo Balkman had a double-double of 16 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block. Justine Baltazar finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and game-high 3 steals.
Strong Group head coach Charles Tiu: "Painful and frustrating loss for us. Couldn’t stop Saoud today no matter what we did. Just too experienced for our team right now. Offense wasn’t the problem but couldn’t get stops. Didn’t help that we got cooked badly. I don’t know what game the refs we’re watching. "
"Thank you to our Filipino fans for supporting us. We are sorry for the loss. We will come back stronger for sure." added Tiu.
The Scores:
AL RIYADI 106 – Saoud 41, Johnson 23, Arakji 13, Majok 13, Gyokchyan 12, Abdelnour 3, Abdelmoneim 1, Zeinoun 0, Mansour 0, Kheres DNP, Tabbara DNP, Martinez DNP.
STRONG GROUP 97 - Muhammad 27, Balkman 16, Baltazar 13, Andrade 11, Barefield 10, Lastimosa 9, Young 8, Quiambao 3, Oczon 0, Cagulangan 0, Gozum DNP, Lopez DNP.
Quarters: 33-19, 51-46, 74-73, 106-97. [GAME STATS] | [REPLAY VIDEO]
Strong Group PHL vs. AL Riyadi (REPLAY VIDEO)
