13 October 2011

BEIRUT: After its maiden appearance at Riyadi’s Saeb Salam Court last year, the Hussam Din al-Hariri Basketball Tournament returns to its roots in Sidon Thursday for this year’s 21st edition.

The tournament is played every year right before the start of the Lebanese League, with several teams from the Arab world and Africa participating, in addition to a handful of Lebanese teams with games being played between Oct. 13 and Oct. 20.Riyadi, who have participated in the tournament every year since its inception, as well as Mouttahed Tripoli and Antranik, will be Lebanon’s representatives this year. Those three teams will face tough competition from Al-Ahli and Sporting from Egypt, Malaab, Douhok of Iraq, Bahrain’s Mouharrak and ASU from Jordan.

Riyadi are favorites to clinch the title, in view of their strong squad and pedigree as Asian champions and high quality foreigners. Dewarick Spencer and Ismail Ahmad have already shown off their chemistry in the team’s pre-season games so far, proving to be a lively and dangerous attacking pairing. Also featuring Ali Mahmoud, Jean Abdel Nour, Joe Vogel and others, Riyadi will be the team to beat in the tournament.

Mouttahed will aim to win their first official tournament and will count on Porter Troupe and Kibew Trim, as well as the team’s captain Elie Rustom and the experienced Bassem Balaa. The only thing to worry about is the absence of last year’s hero Austin Johnson, and whether the Tripoli side will be able to maintain or even raise their level of play.

Antranik will be making their debut in the tournament. The Armenian-Lebanese side won’t be looking for glory, taking into consideration the overall level of their players and the tough financial situation they are passing through. That said, the team’s players will try to gain as much experience as they can ahead of the national league’s kick off in a week and a half.

Coming to the other Arabic teams, ASU from Jordan are expected to be the biggest competitors for both Riyadi and Mouttahed, since the majority of their players featured in the Jordanian national team who reached the final of the Asian Championship last month, losing to hosts China by a single point.

The Egyptian teams will also be hard to beat, especially when looking at the level of experience of their players and their physical abilities and strength. Al-Ahli are a similar case to ASU, as they count on a large number of the Egyptian national team players, while Sporting are the Egyptian Cup winners.

Duhok and Mouharrak are respectively the champions of Iraq and Bahrain. They are not considered as serious contenders, but will try to achieve the best possible results and create some surprises, in preparation for their domestic leagues.

Two games will be played each day until the final on October 20th, three days before the Lebanese league season curtain raiser, the Super Cup between league champions Riyadi and runners-up Champville at the Michel Murr Stadium.

Copyright The Daily Star 2011.