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Riyadi and the Hiroshima Dragonflies met on Friday in the semifinals of the Basketball Champions League Asia. Riyadi overcame the Dragonflies with a score of 121-89
Lebanese champions Riyadi met on friday with the Japanese champions Hiroshima Dragonflies in the semis of the BCLA after topping their group in previous matches.
The game ended on a score of 121-89, confirming Riyadi’s qualification to the final, getting a step closer to the basketball Club World Cup.
Coach Ahmad Farran went for his best 5 of Wael Arakji, Zack Lofton, Hayk Gyokchyan, Karim Zeinoun, and Thon Maker.
Competitive Start
Riyadi experienced a tough start to the game compared to previous ones due to the defensive solidity of their opponents. Which did not limit them from scoring against Hiroshima’s sharpshooters. Riyadi eventually ended the first quarter with a 10 point lead after a buzzer beater 3-pointer from Karim Zeinoun (35-25).
Hot from the Arc
In the second quarter, Riyadi increased their control in the game by expanding their lead to 20 points, as Amir Saoud made the difference with his shooting. At this stage, the Lebanese team was converting 72% of their threes, which highly contributed to their dominance. The first half ended on a score of 69-44.
The third quarter was all about Riyadi maintaining their lead and enter the last quarter comfortably. For most of this period, their advantage stood at 30 points, before getting reduced to 26 (96-70). The fourth quarter confirmed Riyadi’s qualification to the BCLA final after winning with a score of 121-89 over their Japanese counterpart.
Riyadi will play the BCLA final on Saturday against Shabab al Ahli at 5:30pm, hoping they will get a shot at participating in the Club World Cup.
