Lebanese club Al Riyadi, the Asian champion, failed to book its ticket to the final of the FIBA Intercontinental Basketball Cup, after losing to Spanish club Unicaja Malaga, the European champion, by 37 points (59-96) on Friday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore in the second round of Group A matches.
The Spanish team reached the final match scheduled for Sunday, after achieving its second victory and thus securing the lead, after defeating Atletico de Luanda of Angola 94-78 in its first match.
Six teams will participate in the tournament, divided into two groups. The top two teams will qualify for the final, while the runners-up will face off to determine third place, and the last two will face off for fifth place.
On Saturday, the American G League United, representing North America, will meet the Australian Tasmania to determine the champion of Group Two, while Al Riyadi will play against Petro de Luanda in the second-place race.
Al Riyadi coach Ahmed Farran was realistic when he announced before the match that there were huge differences between the two teams, especially since the team’s plans had changed a short time ago after Australian player Thon Maker failed to attend due to his preoccupation with NBA team trials.
The team also lost the efforts of the American Jonathan Simmons for personal reasons, which prompted the club to contract the American duo Manny Harris and Travin Thibodeau, who appeared to need more time to get along, along with the Bosnian Alamuddin Kikanovic, to strengthen the squad that includes the most prominent Lebanese stars, most notably the best Asian player Wael Arakji.
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