Dubai: It will be all-Lebanese teams’ final of the 26th Dubai International Basketball Tournament being held at the Al Ahli Club’s indoor hall.
Sporting Club dashed the hopes of Moroccan champions AS Sale 107-95 in the second semi-final, after fellow Lebanese side Club Sagesse had got the better of the touring And1 team from the USA 99-68.
Arch-rivals back home, Sagesse have won the tournament just once and that was in 2002 – the first team from Lebanon to do so - while Sporting are five-time champions, their most recent success here coming in 2013.
A meeting between these two teams in the 2013 final ended with Sporting winning 88-57. However this time, Sagesse seem to have the edge in the final following last week’s 23-point win against the 24-time Lebanese national champions.
Up against a fighting side from the US, Sagesse paced themselves to lead 24-20 and then 46-40 at the end of the first two quarters before breaking away in the third (73-50) and finally completing the duel 99-68.
“The game last week means nothing. It is a brand-new start for us. We do not have to live in the past. This tournament is an important part of our preparations and the focus right now is to find a way to win this title,” Abou Chacra told Gulf News.
“Our game against Zamalek woke us up and that is how we were much better today. I think we are ready for the final against Sporting, Any team that commits lesser mistakes and keeps its focus will win,” he added.
Three-time and defending champions of the Moroccan League AS Sale fought a grim battle before going down to Sporting 95-107 in the second semi-final later in the night. Sporting was the better team and it showed as the Lebanese led 31-21 and 58-42 at the end of the first two periods.
The Moroccans fought hard and well with the game within reach in the third as they trailed by 12 points (66-78). But Sporting had all the necessary tools to go past the finish line 107-95 and set a final meeting against fellow Lebanese Sagesse.
Meanwhile, organisers were forced to re-schedule the order of play after Dubai’s Al Shabab and the UAE national team both pulled out of the competition citing injuries to key players. That meant an automatic passage for the fifth and sixth place play-off between Zamalek and Nlex. The Egyptians outplayed the Filipino side – currently placed ninth in the 12-team PBA League – to win the fifth spot in the nine-team competition.
