Lebanese Basketball Championship - Men Division One - Regular Season 2005/06

Starters:      Lamine Diawara - Elie Mechantaf - Paul Khoury - Fady Khatib - Kenny Satterfield
Substitutes:   Bassem Balaa - Rodrigue Nacouzi - Maurice Abou Kanaan
 

The third game for Sagesse team against the solid defensive team Blue Stars, was a real test for the mighty greens to prove how much solid and unite the team is. Although the game started with a shaky performance along with a slow transition defense, Sagesse knew how to keep focus. Following some system adjustment, the team was able to improve the defensive scheme then control and dominate the offensive play. The game witnessed an outstanding performance from Lamine Diawara who was everything in the court, carving a double-double record on the game scores sheet. On Blue Stars side, coach Bianchini surprised everyone by keeping Rony Fahed on the bench until late into the game, even when his presence sounded essential in the crucial moments.

Sagesse team performance was swinging throughout the quarters. However, experience and winning will had the final word on the court, and Sagesse walked out victorious from a though game facing a stubborn opponent. Finally, the score distribution over all players was a clear indicator to the team playing spirit.

Captain Elie Mechantaf, Fady El Khatib, Kenny Saterfield, Lamine Diawara and Paul Khoury Started the game, and M13 opened the score by a 3 pointer. The 1st quarter consisted on the inside play from both teams, and soon Blue Stars were leading thanks to superb play from Abdel Nour and Rami Akiki. Moreover, Sagesse slow transition defense paving the way to Blue Stars successful fast breaks made things easy for the "Blues" to create the break. Fady Khatib was kept out of the picture due to Bashir Amoury's tight defense. A time out called by coach Fields failed to fix the defensive dilemma, but helped in a way improving the offense while Khatib was able to score his first basket. Sagesse defense alternated from starting man to man to shift to zone defense when the 1st Quarter ended with a 7-points gap to Blue Stars.

2nd quarter started with a Sagesse's 4-0 run. Khatib escaped the tight defense and gladly took part in scoring. Sagesse performance got better but wasn’t yet flawless: Some turnovers and easy shots missing every now and then. When Blue Stars missed easy shots and committed turnovers, Sagesse clinched the lead for the first time, switching to Zone 2/3 defense thus trapping Blue Stars key players. Two consecutive time out for coach Bianchini didn’t succeed in stopping Sagesse from widening the gap and ending with a 15 points lead at halftime.

After the recess, both teams resumed the game with a clear determination to try sealing the game's issue in this 3rd quarter. Sagesse were shifting their defense from zone 2/3 to man to man, following Blue Stars sudden threatening comeback after Sagesse rocketing start in the early minutes of the quarter. They were able to reduce the gap and come back in the score to a mere 4 points difference for the Greens at the end of this 3rd quarter.

9-0 run for Sagesse at the start of the last quarter, proving the Greens high experience caliber and steel nerves which helped them secure the game and widen the break to a comfortable difference. Lamine was shining defensively along his offensive brio, with three block shots and superior rebounding skills: he was the man who secured the match. Cedric Henderson fouling out, Blue Stars resumed the game with one import. Khatib and Satterfield duo was rocking the stadium out with superb performance, while captain Mechantaf was supplying "Super Lamine" with lethal assists. The pace cooled down noticeably when it was clear that the issue was sealed facing Sagesse supremacy on the game's course, until the final buzzer officially recording Sagesse 3rd win in a row since the league started.

-Game statistics chart courtesy of Al-Balad newspaper - Sports Section ©-Al-Balad-2005 - All Rights reserved: