Al Riyadi Beirut, the Basketball Champions League Asia winners outlasted Petro De Luanda from Angola 80-75, climbing to 1-1 in Group A, finishing behind the 2-0 Unicaja and ahead of the 0-2 Luanda team.
It was a true game of swings, as BAL champions had a 9 point lead midway through the second quarter, only for Riyadi to bounce back and go up by 13 as Manny Harris made a tough and-one with seven minutes to play.
That was just enough to make it smooth sailing the rest of the way, avoid a dramatic finish and get a chance to finish third on Sunday.
Harris was easily the best player on the floor, scoring 12 of his 22 points already in the first quarter, and he also grabbed 9 rebounds with 5 assists and 5 steals.
Elmedin Kikanovic scored 15 on the day, Amir Saoud had 12 big ones off the bench, while Hayk Gyokchyan did a bit of everything with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.
The win is even more impressive considering the fact Wael Arakji played only six minutes in this one.
Abou Gakou scored 20 in 25 minutes off the bench for Petro De Luanda in a losing effort. The BAL champions will play the fifth-place game against Quimsa next.
FIBA