13 October 2012

The countdown to the 2012 23rd FIBA Asia Champions Cup is almost over, with just two more days until the tournament gets under way with the opening ceremony on Oct. 15 at the Saeb Salam Stadium in Manara.

The cup returns to Beirut for the first time since 2000, after hosting it for consecutive years in 1999 and 2000.

Unfortunately for Lebanon, this year’s tournament will feature the lowest number of participants, as only five teams have confirmed their participation: Riyadi Beirut, Iran’s Mahram, Iraq’s Duhok, Turkmenistan’s Belent Asgabat and Mongolia’s E.R Falcons.

United Arab Emirates’ Al-Shabab were the latest club to pull out. Last year’s third-place Al-Rayyan of Qatar and San Miguel of Philippines had announced their withdrawals due to several reasons including security fears and poor timing.

With the decades-long absence of the East Asian countries such as China, South Korea, Japan and Chinese Taipei, the title will be contested between defending champions Riyadi and former champions Mahram.

Riyadi are counting on an energetic home crowd to spur them to back-to-back titles, replicating what fellow Lebanese club Sagesse achieved by hoisting the 1999 and 2000 titles in front of jubilant throngs of spectators from all around the country.

Last year Riyadi took the title for the first time in the cup’s history, and the team hope to set themselves up to surpass Sargesse’s record three titles in the championship.

Meanwhile, Mahram are aiming to avenge their 82-91 loss to Riyadi in the finals of the 22nd edition in Manila last year. And the wounded Iranians have been in devastating form this year, surging to the Jones Cup title last August with a squad completely comprised of natives.

Each of the five teams will play all the other teams in one preliminary round. The four best-placed teams in the first round will meet for the semifinals stage.

Riyadi looking strongRiyadi enter the tournament not only as hosts, but also as heavy favorites, after their impressive run in the Houssam al-Din Hariri tournament in Sidon last week.

The Beirut-based club won the gold for the 12th time after defeating Etoile Du Sahel of Tunisia, African champions, in the final 68-61.

The Lebanese side have undergone several changes since their shocking exit from the final four of the Lebanese basketball league last season, ending seven years of complete domination on the national scene.

It was a big ask for management to replace the winning formula of departed head coach Fouad Abou Chakra, who served for eight years, but they rapidly snatched up Slobodan Subotic, former coach of Greek giants Panathinaikos and Olympiakos, and the Serbian is a man of proven pedigree, evidenced in Riyadi’s Hariri Cup exploits.

The major change at Riyadi under Subotic has been the difference in the wide positions, stemming from a combination of change of style, and tinkering with the formation.

These changes were heavily prevalent in the Hariri tournament in a new system, anchored by defense.

The squad only conceded 63 points per game through strong defensive discipline, despite missing their American giant Loren Woods because of injury. Woods is expected toreclaim his starting berth during the Asian tournament.

Offensively, the team began slow but they completely shifted at the end of the tournament. The yellows were playing with more confidence and energy and the change bore fruit. When a squad’s defense is as solid and consistent as Riyadi, it can provide cover for even a mediocre offense.

One of the reasons for Riyadi’s slow-tempo offense was that they were depending on a local front court, only the second time they have done so, after last year’s Asian Champions cup when they had Fadi al-Khatib alongside Jean Abdelnour.

However this time they are counting on 20-year-old superstar Ahmad Ibrahim, who showed high scoring abilities during the last tournament, earning the MVP award, top scoring for his team with almost 19 points per game for the tournament.

Another positive for Riyadi is their intimidating trio of Ibrahim, Abdelnour and Egyptian veteran Ismael Ahmad, who are very similar and can virtually switch everything both on offense and defense.

But Riyadi have to know that the margin of error will greatly diminish against Mahram, who won’t be as merciful as their Harriri cup competitors and the Beirut club will have to give it their all to hold onto their title.

Mahram with one foreignerMahram’s hopes of regaining their title received a blow when they learned that their American guard Anthony Grundy wouldn’t be able to suit up with the team in time due visa-related problems.

They will count on Bosnian giant Ratko Varda (216cm) to perform up to his high standards. Varda has previously played with several top European teams such as Lithuania’s Zalgiris, Slovenia’s Union Olympija and Russia’s Khimky.

Mahram’s squad includes five players who were part of Iran’s FIBA Asia Champion Cup squad in Tokyo last month. Their front court pose the biggest threat for Riyadi, with the dangerous trio of Mehdi Kamrani, Hamed Afagh and Samad Bahrami – who have been playing together for almost six years – having won practically everything on both club and national team level.

Their back court is not any weaker, with Varda guarding deep inside, and versatile forward Oshin Sahakian and solid big man Moussa Nabipour supplementing the defense.

Mahram defeated Riyadi 3-2 in last year’s final series of the WABA tournament, which served as a qualifier.

Tasteless tournamentAs much as the return of the tournament to the Lebanese capital has been awaited, it frankly wasn’t worth it.

The competition will not only lack the East Asian teams who traditionally have never given the continental cup any importance, but it will also miss some of the top powerhouses of recent years such as Philippines, Qatar, Jordan and Syria.

These worrying statistics demand a new approach from the sports hierarchy to avoid a complete collapse in the level of premier club competition in Asia.

Copyright The Daily Star 2012.