Dynamo overwhelmed Beirut Club (98-83) in their third and final game of the Final Four, holding on to their position as regular season basketball champions and joining Riyadi in the play-off final.
Dynamo (regular season champion) and Beirut Club (third of the regular season) met on Monday night at the Rockland Arena in the capital of the Cedar country for their third confrontation of group 2 of the Final Four of the Lebanese men’s first division basketball championship. As a reminder, in group 1, Riyadi defeated La Sagesse (3-0) and qualified safely for the final.
Dynamo, who had won the two previous matches – thus taking a serious option for the final in this best-of-five series – was playing at home and consequently had the home advantage. The home crowd came out in droves to cheer on their team as the game was sold out. Beirut Club, on the other hand, had to do without Kenny Hayes. However, before the game, coach Ahmad Yamout was optimistic. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t believe in our chances of success,” he said.
When the whistle blew, the rivalry was fierce, with both teams pressing under the boards. However, all attempts were unsuccessful. It was only after two minutes of play that the first basket was finally scored (2-0 for Dynamo). But a shot gave the Beirut Club the lead (3-2). However, Dynamo did not let it count and took the lead (7-3) of this first quarter. Karim Ezzeddine was very efficient with Dynamo, scoring 7 points in less than five minutes. A Dynamo largely in the lead (11-4 then 13-6) despite its inefficiency behind the arc. In this period, the Beirut Club was happier with the first shots, but fell behind (22-10), its defense being porous to say the least. And not surprisingly, this period ended with the hosts dominating against the guests (26-10).
The second half started like the first one: Dynamo well ahead with 34 points against 12 points for Beirut Club. The latter, which tried to rebound on defense – in vain – appeared quite bland on offense. Even before the halfway point of the quarter, Dynamo was up by 22 points (38-16). But Shabazz Muhammad, for the Beirut Club, reduced the difference to 20 points (38-18). Shabazz Muhammad, again, gave hope to his team (38-21); however, Dynamo increased the difference again (40-21). Ali Haïdar added two points for Beirut through free throws (40-23). Ali Mahmoud answered from behind the arc (43-23). And Shabazz directly answered (43-29), but Joe Lowal added two points for Dynamo (45-29). A counter-attack by Zach Lofton, blocked by a Beirut player, provoked an angry reaction from the Dynamo player, who punched the ball away. The reaction was sanctioned by a technical foul. And despite all their good will, Beirut Club was totally overwhelmed (51-30) by their hosts. With 35 seconds to go before the break, the score was 55-32 in favor of Dynamo, who closed the period with a 23-point lead (58-35).
Lowal’s double-double
In this first half, Dynamo finally had 57% of success behind the arc, while Beirut had a rate of 16%.
Coach Yamout’s men came back from the locker room looking more motivated, reducing the gap to 19 points. But Dynamo regained their lead (72-48). Lowal recorded a double-double. Similarly, his teammates multiplied the baskets (78-56). The Beirut players seemed completely overwhelmed. Of note, there was a great waste of time in this game due to slow refereeing, as the referees had too often to resort to videos. Add to this the multiplication of fouls that slowed down the game. Finally, this third quarter ended once again in favor of Dynamo (79-59).
The fourth quarter was like the other three: A Dynamo hyper dominant and a Beirut Club totally collapsed, which was only undergoing the blows which rained down despite some good actions. At the buzzer, Dynamo, victorious (98-83) on a last spectacular dunk of Jad Khalil, joined Riyadi in the final of the Lebanese basketball championship.
Here are the complete results of the Final Four:
Friday, May 5 at 9:45pm: La Sagesse – Riyadi (Group 1, Ghazir) 81-86 pts; Riyadi takes a 1-0 lead in the series.
Saturday May 6 at 4:45 pm: Dynamo – Beirut Club (Group 2, Rockland Arena) 88-81 pts; Dynamo takes the 1-0 lead in the series.
Sunday May 7 at 4:45pm: Riyadi – La Sagesse (Group 1, Manara) 93-89; Riyadi takes a 2-0 lead in the series.
Saturday May 13 at 4:45 pm: Beirut Club – Dynamo (Group 2, Chiyah) 87-95; Dynamo takes the lead 2-0 in the series.
Sunday May 14 at 16:45: La Sagesse – Riyadi (Group 1, Ghazir) 93-96; Riyadi won the series 3-0 and qualified for the final of the Lebanese basketball championship.
Monday May 15 at 9:45pm: Dynamo – Beirut Club (Group 2, Rockland Arena) 98-83; Dynamo wins the series 3-0 and joins Riyadi in the final of the Lebanese basketball championship.
