Lebanese basketball has come to a halt during the civil war, between 1975 and 1992. Although friendly tournaments were organized, the sport did not thrive again until 1993.
Following a 17-year hiatus caused by the civil war, the Lebanese basketball championship was resumed for the 1992-1993 season. But basketball did not stop during the civil war. In fact, a number of friendly tournaments were organized by many clubs, in a rather special context. These were tournaments that would last almost a week, and were played locally and abroad. The best teams of the time were Al Riyadi, Kahraba, Tadamon, ENB, Mont La Salle, and Aamal Bekfaya.
In his interview with Ici Beyrouth, sports journalist and MTV basketball specialist, Ghayath Dibra, tells a story about that period that shows how committed players were: “Yasser el-Hajj was a promising Lebanese athlete who played for Kahraba Zouk in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He lived in West Beirut when, at the time, no one could cross the green line by car. Other members of his club would wait for him on the other side as he crossed the line to join them”.
Dibra explains that games were played in front of a big audience with even bigger expectations: “The sport was still in its infancy, but was very popular nonetheless. Most games, like the tournaments in which EBD Jounieh and Tadamon Zouk competed, were played outdoors. The courts were full. There were few tall players, so dunks were the highlight of any game. During a fixture featuring the Ehya club, Elie Mechantaf, who was famous for his high jumps, went for a dunk and missed, which provoked the anger of the supporters. A similar situation occurred during another game, when Sohail Safar ran to the basket and performed a lay-up instead of dunking it. The people went mad”.
Humble beginnings
The first post-war competition held was the 1992 all-local Lebanese cup. Aamal Bekfaya won. In the 1992-1993 season, Sagesse were crowned champions, although they competed in the second division at the time. Simultaneously, the Lebanese championship was in preparation that same year. The following 1993-1994 season was also won by Sagesse who had, by then, qualified to the first division. No other club was able to realize such an achievement. Early on, Sagesse and Riyadi were crucial to the rise of basketball, although other clubs like Antranik, Rosaire, Centrale, Tadamon, and Kahraba also shone.
The 1995-1996 season came to an abrupt halt when the Sagesse-Riyadi final was cancelled: Tony Khoury, president of the Lebanese basketball federation (FLB), justified this decision by explaining that such a fixture would have threatened the peace. Controversial as it was, Khoury had to resign a few months later. In september of that same year, Antoine Chartier was elected president of the FLB for a 3-year mandate, and was pivotal for the development of the sport in Lebanon.
Recruitment of foreign players
Clubs started drafting foreign players as soon as the 1992-1993 championnship was launched. Ghayath Dibra tells the story of the first foreign recruit, an American who “played for ENB that was financed by Georges Barakat at the time”. He adds that clubs had specific preferences when it came to non-Lebanese players’ ethnic origins: “Centrale hired a lot of Russian players, while Kahraba recruited Africans players like Tilo Vidal”.
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