17 May. 2017 – Central hosted Beirut tonight in the first game of the final 4 series.
As expected, the game was close from the beginning but the hosts managed to end the first quarter leading by 2 (18-20), but Central managed to tie the game 40-40 at the half.
However, Coach Patrick Saba’s men were able to lead the whole third quarter with the efforts of Joe Mansour (20 points), Hussein El Khatib (15 points), and Karim Jadayel who came off the bench and scored 12 points when his team needed him the most.
The 4th quarter was the hosts’ last chance to close the 3 points gap (47-50), and win the game.
Hassan Dandach’s 21 points, alongside Ziad El Ali’s 18 points were not enough for Central to win the game.
Beirut were able to clinch an important win 59-73, and are now leading the series 1-0. But the final score does not reflect the level of this game that was a tough game for both teams.
Congrats Beirut, hard luck Central.
The second game will take place on Thursday in Chiyah Stadium, Beirut. As for tomorrow, Antonine Baabda will host Hadath in the second clash of the final 4.
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