Al Riyadhi of Lebanon [Steelfab] and Fast Link of Jordan [Dubai Duty Free] clash today in the final of the 16th Dubai International Basketball Championship.

The match starts at 7pm at the Maktoum Bin Mohammad indoor sports hall at the Al Ahli club.

Yesterday was a rest day and the two teams held their last training sessions before the big clash today. Murad Barakat, the Fast Link coach, said his team was capable of winning the title.

"We respect Al Riyadhi as one of the best teams in the tournament. However, we came to Dubai to win the title," said Barakat.

"It's true we lost to them when we met in group B. But it was a deliberate defeat because we didn't want to meet Al Ittihad of Syria in the semifinals. We didn't suffer in the semis match against Blue Star which we won easily with 22 points difference," said Barakat.

Fast Link came second in group B in the first round. They beat Al Ittihad of Syria and Zamalik of Egypt before the latter's results were cancelled.

They lost to Al Riyadhi and beat defending champions Segasse in the second round. Fast Link reached the final after routing Blue Star 89-67 in the semifinals.

The Jordanians will be led by two Americans from the NBA: Mario Benit and James Peter in addition to Jordanian players Ayman D'aibes, Ashraf Rasim and Anfar Shwabsoga.

On the other hand, Al Riyadhi completed preparations for today's final. The team coach Fowad Abu Shaqra said he will meet the strongest team in the tournament. "Fast Link are the best team and our mission to beat them will not be easy."

Abu Shaqra said his team worked hard in the semifinals to beat Al Ittihad. "We were confident that our team will win the game despite the fact that Al Ittihad led in the first half."

Al Riyadhi beat Zamalik, Al Ittihad and Fast Link in the first round. They defeated Al Jalaa of Syria in the second round before overcoming Al Ittihad in the semifinals 80-74.

Al Riyadhi include high quality players such as Cristian Johnson and Antonio Madison from the NBA as well as Egyptian Esmail Ahmad, Ali Mahmoud, Jozeph Fogl, Mohammad Hantas, and Mohammad Ebrahim.

Prior to the final, Al Ittihad of Syria meet Blue Star of Lebanon for the third place play off which will begin at 5pm.

Meanwhile, defending champions Segasse settled for the fifth place after beating the UAE national team 102-70 (17-27, 51-43, 74-58 and 102-70).