21 March 2011

DBAYEH: Mouttahed Tripoli were able to continue their superb form and seal an 80-67 win in a key game against Antranik Sunday. The victory keeps the side ahead of Sagesse in the race for the third place, with only three rounds left in the Final Eight.

Antranik started the game with a fast tempo, taking a 10-2 lead two minutes in thanks to some stubborn defending and well-timed penetrations. After a quick timeout called by coach Paul Caughter, Mouttahed raised their intensity and regained their focus to complete an unlikely comeback. The scores were leveled up at 19 at the end of the first quarter thanks to a couple of three pointers from Mohammad Accari.

At the start of the second quarter, the game remained close between both sides. The teams traded baskets and showed some strong organization and ball rotation offensively. The home team were able to take a slim four point lead midway through the quarter.

In the remaining minutes, nothing seemed to change as the Antranik players continued to play at their energetic best to take a 44-38 lead at halftime, despite the absence of their key player Ali Kanaan, who travelled to Syria with Riyadi for the WABA finals.

After the halftime break, Antranik coach Aaron Mitchell decided to apply a box-and-one defensive system by giving his young player Ibrahim Toulani the mission of guarding Mouttahed’s star Austin Johnson. The move, an attempt to put Johnson out of the game’s tempo, didn’t work for long as the visitors decided to show their worth and capabilities taking a one point lead after a 3-pointer from Bassem Balaa.

With five minutes left in the third quarter, the home team players couldn’t find any solutions to Mouttahed’s relentless attacking and the Tripoli side took a 61-53 lead going into the fourth and final quarter.

In the last period of play, the visitors remained calm and focused as they secured their lead. In contrast their opponents looked exhausted and unable to find any way back to the game, taking too many bad shots from beyond the arc while committing some needless turnovers to make Mouttahed’s task much easier.

Johnson was the clear winner of the Reebok man of the match. The American dazzled, finishing with 31 points and eight assists as well as four blocks – an amazing statistic considering his diminutive height. Young Nadim Souaid put in another strong performance for the losers, scoring 19 points.

The visitors clinched an important 80-67 win that will keep them in the third place ahead of their direct rivals Sagesse, who were able to clinch a 56-45 win over Hoops at Ghazir in a defensive and boring game.

Elsewhere Saturday night, league runners-up Champville lost in a surprise defeat to Anibal Zahle away from home. The home players were in great form, especially rising star Rodrigue Akl who scored five 3-pointers. On the other side, Champville clearly missed injured star Fadi al-Khatib, as Jay Youngblood failed to prevent a fourth loss for his team this season.

Copyright The Daily Star 2011.