18 June 2013
BEIRUT: Lebanese fans will have reason to be happy after American giant Loren Woods confirmed Monday he would join the Cedars during the World Cup qualifier, due to take place in the Philippines from Aug. 1-11. The 34-year-old Woods has been linked with the Lebanese national team since before the 2011 Asian Championship in Wuhan. However, talks at the time stalled for several reasons, including lack of funding and the absence of star players.
Head coach Ghassan Sarkis had clearly expressed his wish for Woods to join the squad for the upcoming Asian Championship. It is also believed that the former Minnesota Timberwolves draftee is eager to represent Lebanon in their quest to qualify for the fourth successive time to the World Championship, which takes place next year in Spain.
The 218-cm-tall giant has been one of the most prolific centers to ever play in the region, playing his first stint in the Middle East with Mahram of Iran in 2010 where he helped his team to a hat trick of titles, including the Asian Club Championship.
He then moved to Riyadi in 2011 guiding the Beirut side to their first ever Asian title after beating Mahram in the finals.
In 2012, Woods returned to Iran to play for Zob Ahan, but Riyadi lured him back at the start of this season for a two-year contract. He starred for Slobodan Subotics side, averaging 14.4 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 29.2 minutes per game.
He played in the NBA for six years between 2001 and 2008 his best season came with the Toronto Raptors in 2005 where he posted 3.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game.
Despite his slight upper body, Woods leaps well, has good timing, possesses a nice shooting touch and is capable of running the floor. He will give the Cedars a deep inside presence and will diminish any size gaps against the top powerhouses in Asia such as Iran and China.
Lebanon were drawn in Group B of the Asian Championship alongside Qatar, Japan and Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, Riyadi signed NCAA standout power forward Ali Haidar to a three-year contract Monday, their first move of the offseason.
No details were given about the deal, but Haidar, 22, has been on the radar of several teams including Champville, Sagesse and Byblos.
Haidar, who had played in the NCAA D-II for the last four years, was his conferences top-scoring freshman, averaging 9.9 points per game. He had the second-highest rebound average on the team with an average of 5.8 per game.
On Jan. 11, 2010, he was named the GLIAC Player of the Week when he scored 35 points and had 11 rebounds in two games.
In the 2010-2011 season, Haidar started all 28 games and led the team throughout the season. He was seventh in the league in averaging 6.7 rebounds per game.
For the 2011-2012 season, he earned many honors, including the Ken Hamar Award for the second year in the row, and the GLIAC Player of the Year as well as featuring on the GLIAC first team again.
Copyright The Daily Star 2013.
