Dubai: Club Sagesse joined fellow Lebanon side Sporting as the two unbeaten teams at the 26th Dubai International Basketball Tournament held at Al Ahli Club’s indoor hall on Monday.
Comfortable winners against Al Shabab and And1 SPL in their first two Group B matches, Sagesse maintained their winning momentum with a 107-73 mauling of Libya’s AS Sale on Monday to finish at the top of their group.
Tournament director Awad Sami, meanwhile, promised an additional $20,000 (Dh73,460) bonus to the Nlex Warriors of Philippines if they go on to win the final on Saturday.
“The Filipino team has one of the best [former] NBA players [Al Thornton] and if they win the title then the $20,000 will be theirs,” Sami told Gulf News.
Asian champions on three occasions, Sagesse made their intentions clear from the start as they raced away clear 31-13 with American Terell Stoglin leading the charge with a dozen points. Playing for the first time, new American recruit Charles Thomas then took over in the second quarter with 12 points of his own as the seven-time Lebanese champions took a massive 40-point lead 65-25 at half-time.
With their American duo of Paul Gause — later declared man of the match — and Aleen Callioun finding the basket regularly from outside the ring, the Libyan champions managed to cut down on the lead as they trailed 55-87 at the end of the third period.
Coach Fouad Abou Chacra found it easier to experiment a bit in the final quarter thus giving AS Sale the opportunity of matching their illustrious opponents. But with Thomas in full flow with 19 points and Elias Rustom coming in handy with 15, it was tough to catch the Lebanese as they braced for their quarter-final against the fourth-placed team from Group A.
“Now starts the actual tournament for us. I am happy that Elias [Rustum] and Charles [Thomas] got a good run for the first time this week as we prepare for the knock-outs now,” Abou Chacra told Gulf News.
Zamalek notched their first win as Tymell Murphy top-scored with 15 including nine rebounds and an assist, while Sharif Abdullah was his usual free-scoring self with 14 points including three triples for a 65-57 result against Al Ittihad, Libya.
With former NBA draft Thornton leading the attack the Nlex Road Warriors were comfortably ahead 27-16 at the end of the opening period only to see the plucky UAE come within three points at 31-34 mid-way and then split the lead 41-41 at half-time.
In the third period, the Filipinos showed their marginal superiority with some fine shooting from outside the rim to lead 64-56. The fourth and final period proved good for the Warriors as Thornton’s tally of 25 and Pauliasi Taulava’s support with 18 proved to be the difference even as Qais Omar (21) and Talal Salim’s 22 was adequate for an 87-80 win for the Filipinos.
