20 Mar. 2017 – Check out this photo album from the first game in the Lebanese futsal final between Bank of Beirut and Army. Photos by Lara Arapguirlian / Sportscode Images.

The post Bank of Beirut vs Lebanese Army – Futsal Final Game 1 Pictures appeared first on Sports 961.

20 Mar. 2017 – In a league of 3 foreign players per team, the duty given to the foreign players is much bigger than that of Lebanese players in the majority of teams.

Throughout the season, many imports did not fit the bill with their team and have been changed. Of those who are still playing, here are the top 5 in each statistic.

Points:

01. Dewayne Jackson (Homenetmen) 25.6 points per game
02. Emmanuel Jones (Mayrouba) 24.8 points per game
03. Geron Johnson (Louaize) 24.7 points per game
04. Patrick Rembert (Champville) 23.8 points per game
05. Dewarick Spencer (Moutahed) 23.6 points per game

Rebounds:

01. Darian Townes (Champville) 13.3 rebounds per game
02. Robert Upshaw (Mayrouba) 11.7 rebounds per game
03. Ater Majok (Homenetmen) 1.3 rebounds per game
04. Cleveland Melvin (Moutahed) 10.3 rebounds per game
05. Alade Aminu (Riyadi) 9.68 rebounds per game

Assists:

01. Kevin Galloway (Homenetmen) 8.06 assists per game
02. Geron Johnson (Louaize) 6.56 assists per game
03. Patrick Rembert (Champville) 5.93 assists per game
04. Michael Efevberha (Sagesse) 5.28 assists per game
05. Ken Brown (Riyadi) 5.1 assist per game

Blockshots:

01. Robert Upshaw (Mayrouba) 3.81 blocks per game
02. Ater Majok (Homenetmen) 2.56 blocks per game
03. Darian Townes (Champville) 2.47 blocks per game
04. Alade Aminu (Riyadi) 1.43 blocks per game
05. Wendell Lewis (Louaize) 1.11 blocks per game

Steals:

01. Geron Johnson (Louaize) 2.56 steals per game
02. Dewayne Jackson (Homenetmen) 2.5 steals per game
03. Kevin Galloway (Homenetmen) 2.18 steals per game
04. Omar Thomas (Hoops) 1.91 steals per game
05. Maurice Kemp (Tadamon) 1.87 steals per game

The post Lebanese Basketball – Who are the Leading Foreign Players Statistically Speaking? appeared first on Sports 961.

20 Mar. 2017 – When you lose couple of consecutive games, you definitely need a shock in your team, in order to get back on track.

This was Riyadi’s case, when Coach Subotic resigned, leaving his place to his assisant, Coach Ahmad Farran who is doing a great job so far.

But unfortunately, this isn’t Tadamon‘s case. Coach Paul Caughter got replaced by former Tadamon’s coach Miodrag Perisic who has done a great job last year with the Red Warriors despite being banned from signing new imports.

Tadamon won this season 5 games and lost 7 under the supervision of Caughter.

However, this season, Coach Perisic is finding difficulties putting the team back on the winning track, after losing 4 consecutive games, against Riyadi, Mouttahed, Louaize and Sagesse lately.

How healthy was it to change from an American coaching school into an European one? Especially that Coach Caughter was the one to build the team from scratch, choosing his players and his imports?

What should Coach Perisic do in order to find the missing piece in the team that helps them win again, now that the playoffs are almost here, and everything can change at any moment?

The post Tadamon With Caughter vs Tadamon With Perisic appeared first on Sports 961.

20 Mar. 2017 – 49 participants were taking part in the Lebanese University Championship in badminton, that was held on the 18th of March.

This championship also serves as a qualification for the 2017 Summer Universiade bound to take place this August, in Taipei. In fact, the top two female and top two male athletes will go on to participate in the Universiade.

The results of the championship came as follows:

• Male:
  1. Ernest Abboud, representing USJ
  2. Ascar Num, representing LAU Beirut
  3. Jean Paul Katerjian, representing HU and Robin Makhoul, representing NDU

• Female:
  1.   Mia Khneisser, representing USJ
  2. Marie José Abdel Karim, also representing USJ
  3. Carelle Mouawad, representing LAU Byblos and Maral Simonian, representing HU.

Congratulations to all the medalists and good luck for the athletes participating in the Universiade.

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20 Mar. 2017 – Taekwondo is a big and growing sport in Lebanon. But for most of our local athletes, it is extremely challenging to juggle between university and training. With the Universiade being just around the corner, the hours spent in the gym have considerably increased and trainings have kicked up a notch.

Here’s what the crème de la crème of Lebanese taekwondo have said just before their qualifications. They were asked a few questions about their training, and their expectations right before one of the most important competitions for them.
Beginning with the women, here’s what Pia Bitar, Christina Jane Tanios, Sarah Lynn Tanios and Anna-Maria Khawand had to say.

• Pia Bitar: (Antonine Baabda, -49) She has previously participated in the Gwangju Universiade in 2015. Unfortunately for her, an injury had prevented her from competing.  Pia said: “We are capable of achieving great results because we have a really strong team. But I hope this time around, I will be fit to play as I also hope for circumstances to play more in our favor.” Pia added: “Maybe what I have more is my dedication and my dream. Taekwondo is a part of my life and I have been training for as long as I can remember in order to be known as a good player.”

• Christina Jane Tanios: (LAU Byblos, -57) Christina is participating in the Universiade for the first time and she is training 4 to 5 days a week. She thinks she is ready to compete in the qualifications and she has really high hopes of qualifying. As for the Universiade, Christina admitted that she was hoping for the best. Despite this being her first participation at the Universiade, Christina has a lot of experience in major competitions. However, she said that she was really excited for this event and she truly believes that it will teach her a lot and enlarge her experience. She added, “My teammates are my number one motivation. They always have my back and push me to my very best. Besides, I was a former gymnast and free-runner so this definitely gives me an edge physically.”

• Sarah Lynn Tanios: (LAU Byblos, -62) Winner of West Asian Taekwondo Championship just a few years back, Sarah is working her fingers to the bone for this championship. She said, “Whenever a competition is around the corner, practices become more regular. We train everyday except on Sunday all in the purpose of preparing us both physically and mentally.” Back in 2015, Sarah qualified for the Gwangju games but without having to play any fights at all since her opponent withdrew. “Last year, I didn’t get to play in the qualifications, I hope this year I will have an opponent to face. In addition, when I reached the Universiade in 2015, I tore my hamstring 5 days before the competition, but it didn’t stop me back then and nothing is gonna stop me now. This year, I am conditioning my body beforehand so I hope I can shine and make my country, team, and family proud.”

• Anna-Maria Khawand: (NDU, -67) It’s the second participation for Anna-Maria at the Universiade. Gwangju 2015 was her first international participation so this time around, she is expecting better results. When talking about her training she said: “Being a senior student, I’m finding some difficulties but in general I am training taekwondo 3 days a week at NDU. On Saturdays we practice as national team at Mont La Salle – Ain Saadeh and of course, I do cardio and stretching on a daily basis.”

As for the men, Georges Nakhle, Eric Melki, Pavel Haddad, Rami Saleh, René Abou Halka, Leonardo Chaiban, Tarek Moussally, Jad Maalouf and Rabih Daccache are competing for a spot at this major event.

• Georges Nakhle: (USJ, -54) Georges who has been dominating the local scene lately said: “This qualification is like any other championship so I am taking it really seriously. If I manage to qualify to the Universiade, I’m expecting it to be a great experience and I will try my best to medal there. An experience like this will surely affect my performance as it will give me a chance to play with top notch players from around the world. It will also boost my confidence for other local and international competitions.”

• Eric Melki: (USJ, -58)A prominent name in Lebanese taekwondo, Eric Melki, said he was training hard with his teammates and coaches for the qualifications. He trains for 2 hours a day and runs in order to stay at his peak. This is not his first major event, and Melki admits that he has been waiting for this championship for a while now. His goal is of course a medal. Eric had previously participated in several international competitions, most notably Nanjing Youth Olympics. However, all his competitions were as a junior athlete and this is his first year as a senior. “I’m going to acquire experience but my target is also to grab a medal.”

• Pavel Haddad: (NDU, -63) Winner of his weight category at the Ambassador’s cup, Pavel Haddad said, “I’m preparing as I would prepare for any other championship with all my teammates and masters. It won’t be an easy task to qualify, but if I manage to do so, I expect the Universiade to be a great experience and hopefully I can achieve good results. This won’t be my 1st high level or international competition so I think I’ll be able to perform well with nothing affecting my performance neither mentally nor physically.

• Rami Saleh: (USEK, -63) The competition is at its peak between Rami and fellow teammate Pavel. Speaking about his preparations Rami said: “I’m training hard and learning from my mistakes in order to improve.” Rami emphasized the difference between athletes in Lebanon and abroad underlining the importance of training twice as hard in order to make up for that difference. Saleh added: “This weight category is one of the toughest since it includes the largest number of participants, so whoever qualifies will have already played several fights, thus being better prepared. In fact, in order for anyone to get on a podium abroad, he will have to win two to three fights at least. This weight category prepares us well for this kind of challenge.”

• René Abou Halka: (USJ, -68) René Abou Halka, a very talented athlete to say the least, shared with us his thoughts. As an answer to our questions he revealed: “I’m training hard for this competition and I spend a lot of time and energy to be at my highest level. I think I’m ready to compete in the qualifications, and even grab the first medal for Lebanon in the Universiade.” He also added, “I have played a lot of international tournaments but I’ve never participated in the Universiade since it’s only my second year at the university. Qualifying for this championship will boost my motivation and my excitement for training. What enhances my chances of qualifying is the quality training I get with my coaches and my teammates along with the love I have for this game in which I’ve been participating for 15 years.”

• Leonardo Chaiban: (LAU Byblos, -73) Leonardo, who is no stranger to the international scene, has a big chance of winning since he has already won the Ambassador’s Cup in this weight category.  As for abroad,  this will be Leonardo’s second Universiade after Gwangju 2015. Last time around, he lost in the second round to one of the medalists, and he lost by just a single point. This time he says he is hoping for a better result and he wants to hopefully go further. Leonardo said: “My training routine consists of a daily taekwondo and physical training along with recovery sessions. Hopefully I’ll be ready and in good shape. Having had an international experience for the last 7 years I guess gives me an edge against my local competitors. But at the Universiade, all athletes have a lot of experience and everyone will be ready, so what makes you better is the the fact that you want it more than others.”

• Tarek Moussally: (NDU, -80) Current title holder of the national championship, Tarek Moussally said: “Preparations are always ongoing, our daily trainings aim to put us in our physical and mental peak ahead of competition. I have positive expectations for both the qualifications and the Universiade; we’re putting in a lot more effort than previous years. Besides, this is not my first time participating, and since the last Universiade, (Guangju 2015) both me and my team have grown in experience and physical readiness. We have a vision and mental toughness along with a burning desire to achieve. This pushes us to aim for a higher standard of results.”

• Jad Maalouf:  (AUB, -87) Ambassador’s Cup winner of his weight category, Jad Maalouf said that the preparations were on a roll and he was mainly focusing on the physical aspect of his training. He has the biggest chances of winning these qualifications since he has already won the Ambassador’s Cup this year. He admits that winning the Universiade is a bit far-fetched of a dream but it will undoubtedly be a great experience. However, Jad explained, “We don’t want to just take part in the Universiade, we want to prove ourselves and raise the Lebanese flag high.”

• Rabih Daccache: (UL, +87) Rabih, runner up in his weight category at the Ambassador’s Cup, declared, “I think that I’m ready to play in these qualifications since I am training everyday for the Universiade. There’s a difference of levels between players and I think that in Lebanon, this difference plays in my favor. I have high chances of winning this competition, thus qualifying and traveling with the Lebanese delegation.  I will do my best to raise the name of my country high, as I will be exerting huge efforts to make Lebanon proud.”

Best of luck to whoever qualifies and we wish everyone an injury free competition!

The post Lebanese Taekwondo Players Talk Ahead of Universiade Qualifications appeared first on Sports 961.

21 Mar.2017 – Al Riyadi Beirut Club concluded a deal with one of the best players in the region: the 29 year-old point guard, Edgar Sosa, from the Dominican Republic.

It may be hard to find a great player, like Edgar Sosa, who has taken the floor in the Euro-league. He nearly lost his career to a gruesome leg injury while competing for the Dominican Republic national team three years ago.

On September 5 2011, in a game against Panama in the Olympic qualifiers, Sosa got injured, breaking a tibia. An injury that kept him away for two full seasons. Furthermore, Sosa was not in contract with any club, so he went through his rehab virtually alone with his mother for moral support and a personal trainer to push him forward.

Just getting back to the way he was before wasn’t enough, said Sosa. He had a lot of fear during his come back.

After going undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft, Sosa joined the Detroit Pistons for the 2010 NBA summer league. He later signed for the Italian Serie A team Angelico Biella for the 2010 – 2011 season.

In September 2013, he signed with Ratiopharm ULM of the German Basketball Bundesliga for the 2013-2014 season. He averaged 11.5 ppg, 3.7 apg and 1.3 rpg.

In July 2014, Sosa signed with the Italian Euro-league team Dinamo Sassari for the 2014-2015 season, where he averaged 10.4 ppg, 4.2 apg and 1.4 rpg in 22.9min of playing time.

In October 2015, Sosa signed a deal with Iranian team Petrochimi who had won the Iranian super league title. He played 28 games with the team where he averaged 16.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 3.4 apg and 1.3 spg.

In April 2016, he signed with Hapoel  Jerusalem for the rest of the season. He only played four games with the team. He averaged 5.8 ppg and 1.5 apg.

In August 2016, Sosa signed with Club Juvecaserta Basket for 2016-2017 season where he parted ways with the club averaging 15,4 ppg, 2.8 rpg and 5.9 apg.

Sosa is quite experienced player. He has played in seven different countries on four different continents (Europe, Asia, Latin America and of course North America). He had also previously played professionally in the Dominican Republic.
A few words that could describe him: A very promising combo guard, with an immense upside for Al Riyadi Beirut Club. Has the court vision and the passing skills of a proven PG, scores a lot of points and can defend well. 

Sosa arrives on Saturday to Lebanon to join his new club. Riyadi might keep on all of their imports so Sosa will have a tough challenge to prove himself in our strong league.

All the luck for the talented player with Al Riyadi Beirut.

The post The Inspiring Story of Riyadi’s new Player Edgar Sosa appeared first on Sports 961.

21 Mar.2017– The Lebanese Basketball Association President, Mr.Pierre Kakhia signed a contract with the Director General of Sports Mania Tariq Abboud to sponsor the U18 league. Sports Mania will be responsible for organizing the upcoming championship for the young talents hungry to showcase their talent.

The signing ceremony took place at the headquarters of Antoine Choueiri in the presence of Vice-President Rami Fawaz, Edouard Bou Zakhm, the Secretary-General Charbel Michel Rizk, and the Association’s member, Roger Achkouti. The tournament will begin in the first week of April with 30 teams divided into six groups. Each group will have five teams. In  Honoring the best player in each match with the Cup for the best scorer in each meeting in order to support the rising talent.

In a nice move to push young talents to give their all, the best player in each match will be honored, with the best scorer taking a Cup home. Great initiative to support the rising talent.

The post The Lebanese Basketball Federation To Launch U18 League appeared first on Sports 961.

21 Mar. 2017 –  Bank of Beirut defeat the Army Club in game 2 of their series ending the game 2-0 in their favor. With this win, BoB already have one hand on the cup.

They become one step away from retaining their title and being crowned Lebanese Futsal League champions again. Merely five minutes into the game, BoB score a goal and take an early lead. To enhance their lead, top scorer of the league, Ali Tneich, hits the net making it 2-0.

Only one game seperates now BoB from the title so can they bring home the gold again? Or could the Army make a comeback and impose a 3rd game?

The post Bank of Beirut One Game Away from Retaining the Title appeared first on Sports 961.

22 Mar. 2017 – Here are the photos from the 2nd game of the Lebanese futsal final between Bank of Beirut and the Army. Photos by Lara Arapguirlian / Sportscode Images.

The post Bank of Beirut vs Lebanese Army – Futsal Final Game 2 Pictures! appeared first on Sports 961.

22 Mar. 2017 – On the 28th of March, 2017, the Lebanese football national team will face Hong Kong in the opening of the decisive qualifiers for the 2019 UAE Asian Championship.

During Tuesday’s afternoon training session, media were allowed to attend and the coach expressed his content to the chemistry between players as well as their fighting spirit and motivation to reach their target.

He also reached to the fans, asking them to be many in order to support the team at home. Moreover, he stated that the mix of new blood in the squad will reflect positively in the upcoming stages and he highlighted the fact that the visitors have more than 10 naturalized players who joined months ago.

6 games in total will be played over a year, and it is very important to get the 3 points in the first game as Lebanon has never qualified to Asia through qualifiers.

The post Lebanese Football NT Ready to Face Hong Kong in Asian Qualifiers! appeared first on Sports 961.

22 Mar. 2017 – The Lebanese fencing federation launched its 2017 competitions at Mont La Salle, with 3 already played.

First, in the girls under 13 championship, Thea Abou Araj from Mont La Salle conserved her title while her teammate in the same club Tatiana Ferneini ended up 2nd. Third place went to Silia Chammas from Jamhour.

Secondly, in the boys same category, Carl Abou Khalil (Mont La Salle) also managed to defend his title ahead of his teammate Hadi Daccache. Two other MLS athletes, Christian Abou Khalil and Matheo Ajaka finished third.

Finally, in the men’s category, the title went to the Lebanese Army team “A”, which consists of Chafic El Khoury, Raed Bou Karoum, Ziad Jalbout and Mahmoud Ali Ahmad. They were indeed able to beat Mont La Salle’s team “A” consisting of Gio Daou, Arz Zaherddine, Elie Louis Tourni. The Army team “B” and Taadod club ended up third.

The post 2017 Lebanese Fencing Championship Results appeared first on Sports 961.

22 Mar.2017– In a fight to earn a playoff spot, Mayrouba battle Tadamon in one of the toughest games of the season.

Tadamon have shaken their roster with the acquisition of 2 new imports. Deng Deng and Courtney Pigram have not risen to the challenge in their first game against Sagesse. Today’s their last game for redemption as a loss would severely dent their chances to qualify. Deng has shown he is athletic, fast and explosive but lacks the size and power to hold off the powerhouse of other teams. With Robert Upshaw down low, Deng is definitely suffering. He can never hold him on his own, so doubling him with Gerard coming over would be the best idea. Mayrouba have a huge advantage under the rim.

Mayrouba has also a newcomer on their side, Tony Weeden. He seems to be a scorer with some tricks up his sleeves. With a style of play close to Pigram’s style, it seems to be a good matchup. The third matchup will be between Maurice Kemp and Emmanuel Jones. Both athletic, physical, with a great fighting spirit. They can play the post, drive the lane, and can hit you with many second chance points. Kemp could have a bigger defensive role as he might also help with containing Upshaw.

Mayrouba’s Lebanese players have proved they can step up when their team needed them most. Great showing against Louaize. Tom Ammar, Fouad Anati and Albert Zeinoun proved they belong in division 1. Missing an import last week, they elevated their game and kept fighting till the last second. On the other hand, Tadamon’s only Lebanese player that has really caught our eyes is Jad Khalil. Mesmerizing performances game in, game out. But he needs help. His backup PG, Rony Fahed is not the guy we used to know. Deteriorating game after game, Tadamon were relying a lot on him to score that go-ahead bucket, that dagger three, but he still didn’t show up. Ali Fakhredine must have an important role today as the battle down low will surely drain the players out of their energy.

Everything is on the line, who will step up and clinch a last 8 spot?

The post Lebanese Basketball League-Preview: Mayrouba vs Tadamon appeared first on Sports 961.

22 Mar. 2017 – Jamhour officially concluded its schools basketball tournament, named after “Georges Wakim”.

There were two categories in that competition, and here are the final results.

Girls:

Semi Finals:
– Jamhour 44-18 Saint Joseph Schol
– Lycee AbdelKader 48-25 Lycee Nahr Ibrahim

Third place game:
Nahr Ibrahim 20-0 Saint Joseph School (DNP)

Final:
Lycee AbdelKader 35-21 Jamhour

Boys:

Semi Finals:
– Jamhour 72-52 Saint Joseph School
– Sagesse High School 58-43 Champville

Third place game:
Champville 69-55 Saint Joseph School

Final: 
Sagesse 74-37 Jamhour

The post Jamhour “Georges Wakim” Schools Basketball Tournament Results appeared first on Sports 961.

22 Mar. 2017 – The University of Saint Joseph managed to host European Universities that are ranked among the best in sports, as they will be participating in the Beirut Unisports Festival from Match 23rd and until March 26th.

After the arrival of Switzerland’s Freiburg and Serbia’s Novi Sad, the organizing committee welcomed Karlova University from Czech Republic, represented by their women basketball team who are among the best in Europe.

Moreover, the Belgrade University men futsal team arrived, and it has Serbian NT and Partizan Belgrade players on its roster, who won the Serbian and European championships.

Tonight, Italian and German teams are bound to arrive in order to complete the teams ahead of the opening ceremony on March 23rd at 7:00 P.M. Games will take place in the Sports City of USJ in Achrafieh. There will be many competitions, like dancing, basketball, futsal, volleyball, table tennis, swimming and cross country.

At the end, on Sunday March 26th, the awards ceremony will be held in the presence of all invitees.

It is also worth mentioning that USJ is organizing trips to touristic locations for the visitors, such as Harissa, Baalbeck, Deir El Kamar, the Cedars…

The post Elite European Universities in Lebanon for the Beirut Unisports Festival! appeared first on Sports 961.

22 Mar. 2017 – The Lebanese Athletics federation organized the 2017 age groups Cross Country Championship, at Jamhour.

It was the federation’s second official competition this year, and 420 players representing 16 clubs participated.

Results:

Men (20 y.o +) 8 kilometers:
01. Bilal Awada (Lebanese Army) 29.24 minutes
02. Darwich Hadid (Lebanese Army) 29.5 minutes
03. Hussein Awada (Lebanese Army) 29.56 minutes

Women (20 y.o +) 4.2 kilometers:
01. Hala El Murr (Blue Stars) 18.49 minutes
02. Joumana Alame (Baalbeck) 19.28 minutes
03. Ghina El Asir (Champions Club) 19.34 minutes

Juniors (18-19 y.o) 4.2 kilometers:
01. Peter Khoury (Champville) 15.31 minutes
02. Ali Mortada (Baalbeck) 15.4 minutes
03. Charbel Merheb (Antonine Baabda) 17.23 minutes

Juniors (18-19 y.o) 3.6 kilometers:
01. Diana Fakhran (Champions Club) 17.22 minutes
02. Nour Aour (Aabr Lebanon) 18.08 minutes
03. Tamara El Zein (Aabr Lebanon) 19.14 minutes

Juniors (16-17 y.o) 3.6 kilometers:
01. Kifah Mohamad (Manar) 13.3 minutes
02. Ahmad Taleb (Baalbeck) 13.56 minutes
03. Christopher Faddoul (Aabr Lebanon) 14.05 minutes

Juniors (16-17 y.o) 2.8 kilometers:
01. Murielle Salim (Jamhour) 13.21 minutes
02. Lea Houeik (Jamhour) 14.21 minutes
03. Yasmina Fakhry (Jamhour) 14.45 minutes

Juniors (14-15 y.o) 2.8 kilometers:
01. Wajih Tayyar (Jamhour) 10.35 minutes
02. Bassam El Hayek (Manar) 10.5 minutes
03. Anthony Feghaly (Antonine Baabda) 11.01 minutes

Juniors (14-15 y.o) 2.2 kilometers:
01. Farah Tayyar (Jamhour) 9.03 minutes
02. Michel Bou Eid (Jamhour) 10 minutes
03. Emisia Melki (Aabr Lebanon) 10.09 minutes

Juniors (12-13 y.o) 2.2 kilometers:
01. Bilal Naaman (Manar) 8.58 minutes
02. Alexandre Fakhry (Jamhour) 9.05 minutes
03. Salim Kachou (Jamhour) 9.11 minutes

Juniors (12-13 y.o) 1.6 kilometers:
01. Amanda Younan (Champville) 6.5 kilometers
02. Chloe Osseili (Jamhour) 6.59 minutes
03. Laeticia Fakih (Antonine Baabda) 7.09 minutes

Juniors (10-11 y.o) 1.6 kilometers:
01. Ibrahim Haidar (Aabr Lebanon) 6.16 minutes
02. Maurice Slaiby (Champville) 6.42 minutes
03. Alexandre Nehmeh (Champville) 6.42 minutes

Juniors (10-11 y.o) 1.6 kilometers:
01. Nay Moustafa (Jamhour) 3.57 minutes
02. Maria Nassar (Jamhour) 4.11 minutes
03. Rhea Mehrej (Jamhour) 4.34 minutes

The post 2017 Lebanese Cross Country Championship Results appeared first on Sports 961.

22 Mar.2017– The Lebanese Basketball Federation has decided to organize the annual All-Star weekend on Saturday, April 8 and Sunday, April 9, 2017, on Nouhad Nawfal Stadium in Zouk.

The program will include a three-point competition whereas the best shooters in the league will be chosen upon their statistics and shooting percentages. Following that, the slam dunk contest between the best high flyers of our league will start. A committee will decide who can participate in this competition. Both these events are on Saturday starting 4 PM and finish at 7 PM.

The long-awaited All-Star game between the team of Beirut composed of (Sagesse,Riyadi,Homenetmen,Hoops) and the team of outside Beirut composed of ( Tadamon, Byblos, Mouttahed, Louaize, Champville) will take place on Sunday at 5 PM. Players and coaches will be selected after voting from the fans under the supervision of the federation.

The post All Star Weekend Timings and Venue Revealed-Lebanese Basketball appeared first on Sports 961.

22 Mar.2017– Rejuvenated Sagesse hope to keep momentum high and defeat Mouttahed in Ghazir.

After an exceptional game on Sunday, Sagesse want to revenge their 23 point loss in Tripoli. This Stoglin-less team is playing more of a team game now. Passing the ball more, 26 assists against Tadamon, most in this season. Every player is having a touch of the ball and this is essential if you want role players to contribute to the scoring to take some pressure off the foreigners.

With Stoglin out, Mike Efevberha is clearly their go-to guy. A splendid triple-double showed how well he can score and feed his teammates at the same time. Mouttahed must pressure him high on the court to try a force him to surrender the ball as much as possible. Limiting him will kill most of the green offense as few players can create on the roster. Elie Rustom has shown he’s the guy to take these tough defensive tasks and might be asked to take this one also. Rotating with Omar Ayoubi or Tanguy Osman will keep Mike under pressure ( he’s surely playing 40 minutes), and giving some much-needed rest for the visitors’ defenders. Here comes Mohammad Ibrahim’s role. He must be the guy to push the ball forward to take pressure off his teammate. Handing Mike the ball at the three point line is definitely better as he can take any defender one on one from there on. Ibrahim is a crucial piece in this puzzle.

Down low, Sagesse have a bit of an advantage. Playing with two bigs that can play the post is going to create space in Mouttahed’s defense. While both Charles Tabet and Melvin Cleveland are good defenders, they can’t handle Kenny Adeleke and Calvin Godfrey. Sagesse’s duo is bigger, stronger and can both play the post. Double teaming will be the obvious thing to do, but this will leave space to the other to operate. Much of what we saw on Sunday. Mouttahed can counter that with their fast tempo, as Sagesse’s slow transition defense got even slower. They chose power over speed, let’s see who will win. Not to forget that Marwan Ziade and Thiago Makhlouf can both play the tough game.

As for Mouttahed, lacking a true PG after Akl got injured, hurt them a lot. With Spencer and Curry playing the 1 and 2, their team got more predictable. Spencer’s movements were well monitored and he could not use his off the ball screens as often to take his shots. Now with a defender like Mike on him, he will have a hard time finding his way, although he seldom loses his track. As for Curry, I really think a player like Junior Beyrouthy could limit his production. Junior suffers against quicker, stronger guards with the likes of Geron, Curry is neither. Beyrouthy can cope with his speed and can take him one on one. Curry will surely drain threes over his head but still, he will be a pain in the neck.

With Stoglin out, players are stepping up. Patrick Bou Abboud has been the turnaround for his team. His latest showings show the versatility this guy has. With Bashir Ammoury coming off the bench and Joe Ghattas taking his usual defensive duties, Sagesse have really a chance going into this game, especially underlining the fact that Mouttahed haven’t played since March 10.

The post Lebanese Basketball League-Preview: Sagesse vs Mouttahed appeared first on Sports 961.

23 Mar.2017 – Jad Khalil, Tadamon’s point guard got injured in yesterday’s game against Mayrouba in the first minutes of the game.

The upcoming tests will show whether his leg injury is more serious or not.

Jad proved that he deserved his spot in the National Team, and is showing incredible skills in each game.

We want to wish our promising point guard a fast recovery.

The post Jad Khalil Injury Update – Lebanese Basketball appeared first on Sports 961.

23 Mar. 2017- In a unique location, Elite Running Club in collaboration with Sportscode organized the 2017 Naqoura 10 Km Run. More than 550 participants from different clubs took part in this amazing event. They crossed a long distance to enjoy the run and even challenge others to beat their time.

Timingcode, using high-tech timing systems, were there to provide the participants with an accurate timing and results.

You can find below the Top 3 overall results for both categories:

Men:
01. Awad Sherefat – Jordan      31:50 minutes
02. Moussa  Hodroj- Elite Running Club    31:55 minutes
03. Hussein  Kays  – Army   33:28 minutes

Women:

01. Aregu Abate – Ethiopia   38:48 minutes
02. Nadine Kalot – Inter-Lebanon    43:09 minutes
03. Maria Kiwan  – University of Balamand   43:28 minutes

For the full results please follow the link: http://bit.ly/2nGzK1C

You can also check the best moments of this event through this video:

The post 2017 Naqoura 10 Km Run Results appeared first on Sports 961.

23 Mar. 2017 – In the second game of the final’s series that opposes USJ to Shooterz, the latter managed to clinch a tough 3-2 win against their opponents.

USJ, playing on their home turf and having won the first game had higher hopes of winning the game. Shooters, on the other hand, were the underdogs in that game. Despite leading the regular season by a huge margin, they made a fatal mistake that almost cost them the title. However, the underdog bites back. In fact, Shooters worked their fingers to the bones and Nathalie Matar was able to hit the net, giving her team the lead. However, USJ quickly reacted and the equalizer came through Maria Semaan.

Both teams went into the break with a score of 1 all. The second half promised to be exciting and full of surprises. Shooters managed to take the lead once more with a shot from Rayane Rachid who made 2-1. USJ had only one option left: power player. Using this strategy, the university team were able to make it 2-2 through Lea Dahrouge just 2 minutes before the end of the game.

On to two extra-times to finally decide who the winner is. At the end of the first extra-time, the score was still 2 all. However, with only 30 seconds on the clock, Nancy Tchaylian scored the winning goal for her team.
You can watch the winning goal below:

Speaking of his team’s win, Coach Elie Kassis said, “The game was far from easy. We worked very hard in the team to fix our mistakes and benefit from theirs. We were also able to tame their strong links which was not an easy task. Before the game, I tried as much as possible to prepare the girls mentally. This game required we be both mentally and physically tough. In addition, the girls had no rest days. I want to thank everyone who made this win possible and on to the next one to hopefully win the title.“

Finally, we wish the player of USJ, Malak Hteit, a speedy recovery after the injury she has suffered during the game.

The post Triumphant Shooters Overcome USJ, Impose a Third Game appeared first on Sports 961.