Strong Group suffers heartbreaker in Dubai

Strong Group Athletics absorbed a heartbreaking, buzzer-beating defeat at the hands of Lebanon’s Al Riyadi, 77-74, to settle for a runner-up finish in the 33rd Dubai International Basketball Championship yesterday at the Al Nasr Club.

Andre Roberson missed the gamewinning trey in the last 11 seconds, leading to Al Riyadi’s own winner in the ensuing transition play courtesy of seasoned cager Ismail Ahmed Abdelmoneim – a booming trey as time expired.

Al Riyadi, led by FIBA Asia Cup MVP Wael Arakji who kicked out a baseline swing pass to the 47-year-old Abdelmoneim just in the nick of time, retained its Dubai title at the expense of Strong Group anew.

It was Al Riyadi which also eliminated Strong Group in the quarterfinals last edition before striking another dagger to the Filipino ball club’s heart.

Gabriel Harries led the way with 23 points and seven rebounds while Arakji and Abdelmoneim, a 30-year-pro, chipped in 16 and 10 points, respectively, to spearhead Al Riyadi’s unbeaten run in eight games.

But more than its lethal offense, Al Riyadi stamped its class on the defensive end with a masterclass on Strong Group’s strongest weapons led by local ace Kevin Quiambao.

The UAAP MVP from La Salle, after leading the charges of coach Charles Tiu in scoring with seven straight double-digit outings, went scoreless in 37 minutes of play on 0-of-5 clip.

Strong Group felt the struggle of Quiambao, who normed 18.0 points prior to the finale, as it trailed early with 19-point deficit before unleashing a fiery comeback that just fell short in the second half.

From a 36-55 gap, the team owned by Frank and Jacob Lao scaled the mountain and tied the match at 74-all on Jordan Heading’s triple with still a minute to go for a potential championship.

But to no avail as Al Riyadi capitalized on the defensive mano-a-mano in the succeeding possessions before ending the dramatic duel on Abdelmoneim’s buzzer-beater. The scores: Al Riyadi 77 – Harries 23, Arakji 16, Abdelmoneim 10, Kikanovic 7, Zeinoun 6, Gyokchyan 5, Sakakini 5, Saoud 3, Mansour 2, Tabbara 0, Daboul 0, Ziade 0.

Strong Group 74 – Roberson 24, Howard 18, Heading 17, Moore 12, Blatche 3, Quiambao 0, Baltazar 0, Escandor 0, Cagulangan 0, Liwag 0, Sanchez 0, Ynot 0.

Quarterscores: 22-12, 46-32, 61-57, 77-74