FIBA West Asian Super League:
Tabiat undone by Al Riyadi in dead rubber
Iranian champion Tabiat Basketball finished its Group A campaign with a 92-78 loss to Lebanese powerhouse Al Riyadi at the FIBA West Asian Super League in Zouk Mikael, Lebanon, on Sunday night.
Having beaten other Lebanese club Sagesse (75-73) on the preceding night to secure a runner-up finish in the group and a place in next month’s Final 8, Tabiat started on the front foot at the Stade Nouhad Naufal and won the first quarter 27-23, before Wael Arakji inspired the defending champion to finishing the tilt with a pristine 8-0 record.
The Lebanese point guard contributed with 27 points – including three from behind the arc – with Amir Saoud (16), American Marcus Georges-Hunt (15), Marin Maric (10) also finishing in double figures.
Saoud delivered 13 points in the second chapter alone as he powered the turnaround that saw the reigning BCL Asia champion turn a six-point deficit to a 50-41 advantage entering the break.
Croatian center Ivan Buva continued his impressive run for Tabiat with a game-high 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Sina Vahedi chipped in 14 points.
Tabiat showed some fight late in the game, managing to cut the gap to nine, but Georges-Hunt and Arakji joined hands for a mini-run to restore order, 89-76, with only 1:22 left.
Finishing the group campaign with a 5-3 record, Tabiat will be back in the Iranian league action – starting with a game against Palayesh Naft Abadan on Saturday in the last-four playoffs –before shifting into high gear for WASL’s culminating event, the date and venue of which to be announced soon.