Jetlagged Lebanon beats Kuwait

Jetlagged Lebanon beats Kuwait

by rick olivares

When you think of Lebanon’s basketball team, Al Riyadi Beirut, you think of Fadi El Khatib. Seeing him in the first quarter of their match versus Kuwait Al Qadsia, he looked sluggish and somewhat heavy. He missed all four of his three-point attempts in the first half including some gimme shots as he ditched his defenders when at the post.

It turned out that the Lebanese team arrived only a few hours prior to tip off. Theirs was a long long flight – 22 hours to be exact -- from the Middle East with a stopover at Dubai and having to recover lost luggage.  So they nary had sleep and rest and they had to play a ballgame against a tough challenger.

After 35 minutes, Lebanese Head Coach Fouad Abou Chakra switched to a zone defense that made it hard for Kuwait especially Aziz Al Hamidi to drive to the basket.

In the first half, it was Yehya Sabra and Christien Jermaine Charles who kept Al Riyadi close to Al Qadsia as they were down by two 42-40. But at the 35^th minute, El Khatib found his second wind and took over from the spectacular Nathanel Johnson (28 points, 7 boards, and 2 blocks) to swish four three-pointers and a couple of baskets to finish with 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists that eventually put away the pesky Kuwaitis 87-78.

During the post game press conference, El Khatib said that he looked forward to playing the Smart Gilas team. “I know we’re going to get another workout because the Philippine team likes to run.”

Lebanon’s star player also said that the Philippines is one of his favorite places and made some good friends with pro players Asi Taulava and Jimmy Alapag.

Al Riyadi is bracketed with Smart Gilas Pilipinas, Mahram Iran, Sangmoo Korea, and Kuwait Qadsia in Group A.

Over at Group in the 20^th FIBA Asia Champions Challenge Cup are Qatar Al Arabi, Al Wasil United Arab Emirates, Jordan Zain, Young Cagers India, and Satria Muda Indonesia.

Dudes... Fadi El Khatib rocks. Very good basketball player. Very articulate and intelligent. Awesome press con. When I get back to Manila I will upload all my video interviews.