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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Al Riyadi denies Strong Group in Dubai finals

Al Riyadi denies Strong Group in Dubai finals

Published Jan 29, 2024 04:17 am

At A Glance

  • The 47-year-old Abdelmoneim wore the hero's cape for the Lebanese club as he delivered the dagger that shattered the title aspiration of the Filipino squad and also silenced the throng of overseas workers at the venue.

Strong Group fell short of its championship bid after Al Riyadi’s Ismail Ahmed Abdelmoneim drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer en route to a 77-74 win in the finals of the 2024 Dubai International Basketball Championship early Monday, Jan. 29, at the Al Nasr Club.

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Andre Roberson (Strong Group Athletics)

The 47-year-old Abdelmoneim wore the hero’s cape for the Lebanese club as he delivered the dagger that shattered the title aspiration of the Filipino squad and also silenced the throng of overseas workers at the venue.

The Philippine side actually made an improbable run as it was down by 19 midway of the third salvo – thanks to Andre Roberson as he took care of business and spearheaded a 25-8 blitz which cut the deficit to just two, 59-61, a minute past in the final period.

Roberson’s hot-shooting didn't stop there as he drilled another dagger after Jordan Heading’s triple for SGA’s 65-61 lead.

The game was not over then as Gabriel Harries and Amir Mohammad Ismail Saoud lifted Al Riyadi to regain its momentum, combining for eight points in the waning minutes to make it 72-67.

SGA relied on its imports in Dwight Howard and Roberson to keep themselves alive, with Heading also joining the effort after hitting his final trey to tie it at 74-all.

It was SGA's last counter as the veteran Abdelmoneim came with the last-second triple. 

Harries topscored with 23 points while Wael Arakji backed him up with 16 to affirm its mastery over SGA which it booted out last year in the quarterfinals. 

SGA had double-double numbers from Roberson and Howard by tallying 23 points and 13 rebounds, and 18 points and 12 rebounds, respectively. Young stars Kevin Quiambao, Francis Escandor and Justine Baltazar went scoreless.

Mighty Sports did the country proud in 2020 by winning the event undefeated. Owned by the family of Wongchuking, Mighty Sports defeated Al Riyadi of Lebanon, 92-81, to become the first club team outside of Middle East to win the prestigious event.

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