Patriotism prevails for Lebanese
star Wael Arakji as Al Riyadi Beirut’s journey continues in the
FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2024 in Singapore.
First going up vs Spain’s
Unicaja filled with American and European imports, Al Riyadi lost
by 37 points 59-96 in their opening match of the tournament and was
outmatched talent-wise and height-wise.
Unicaja outplayed Al Riyadi on
both ends of the floor, getting deflections, and made more than 50
percent of their shots from the field – and Arakji could not help
but voice out his disappointment after the tough
loss.
“We had a pretty decent start,
to be honest – pretty decent first half. They definitely have a
deeper team. The rules of this tournament are already in their
favor – they have more foreigners and they have mixed nationalities
in their team.
The man awarded the ‘best point
guard in Asia’ put in some notable highlights throughout the game,
scoring 11 points on 5/11 shooting, but it just wasn’t enough
against the European champions.
Despite losing big against the
Spanish side, Arakji remained steadfast in his goal of playing and
representing their country Lebanon with utmost pride across their
chests.
“Playing here (FIBA ICC) is way
different for us (compared to these teams). For us, we are playing
for Lebanon – we’re doing our best for our country.”
“Yeah there’s a huge difference
with the score but I’m really happy and proud of our performance,”
Arakji said.
Al Riyadi quickly got down to
work and displayed that pride when they produced a tough win in
their second game against African reps Petro de Luanda from Angola,
winning 80-75. Arakji was not able to contribute much after going
scoreless in 6 minutes of action, but he’ll take a win any day of
the week over personal stats.
The Lebanese, who are the Asian
representatives in the Intercontinental basketball meet, will now
play tomorrow against Australia’s Tasmania JackJumpers for a chance
to secure the consolation third-place match.
Asia’s best PG Wael Arakji of Al Riyadi
Beirut sounds off after tough loss but insists team is “playing for
Lebanon”:The Lebanese lost big vs Spain’s Unicaja but bounced back vs
Angola’s Petro de Luanda to book their third-place bout vs
Australia’s Tasmania // @basketbllnews
pic.twitter.com/idcYQYXKE4“My Anthony Valmoir (
September 14, 2024
