Beirut, March 30: Nate Johnson and a newly fit Loren Woods led Riyadi to a 101-85 victory against Syrian side Jala’a to keep their hopes of winning the West Asian league alive Monday.
The game was the third in a best-of-five series in the West Asian League final. Defeat would have meant elimination for Riyadi after Jala’a won the first two games in Aleppo, but Johnson – 30 points, eight rebounds – and Woods – 25 points, 17 rebounds – dominated throughout to lead the Lebanese champions to victory.
The game was played in front of an empty arena after the Lebanese Interior Ministry and the Internal Security Forces ordered that all fans be banned from entering in the wake of the political unrest in Syria and the rally outside the Syrian Embassy in Beirut.
With Woods back from injury, Riyadi had far more menace at both ends of the court and the lanky American made his presence felt early on, scoring eight points in the first quarter.
He introduced himself with a smart dunk and finished the quarter with a free throw that gave Riyadi a 25-23 lead after the first 10 minutes. In between, Woods hassled shooters and pulled two blocks while disturbing Jala’a’s Samaki Walker into missed shots.
In a similar vein to the first two games of the series, Jala’a were devastating on the break and ruthless from beyond the arc.
The visitors opened up a six-point lead early on, but unlike the previous two games, Riyadi fought back through Nate Johnson and a superb – and rare – four-point play by Omar Turk which awarded the home side a crucial lead.
Woods would go to work again in the second quarter but it was Riyadi’s small men who took the glory before half time.
Riyadi were able to hold off Jala’a early in the quarter, relying on Johnson to grab the points.
At the halfway point of the quarter, Riyadi’s Mohammad Ibrahim and Amir Saoudi took the floor and grabbed two quick 3-pointers to give Riyadi a 12-point lead forcing Jala’a into a timeout.
Johnson and Turk then moved Riyadi 17 points clear.
An alley-oop, a fast break and an incredible block by Loren Woods on NBA champion Walker was enough to give Riyadi a 23-point lead with only a minute to go until the break.
A late 3-pointer from Jala’a meant that the two sides went into half time at 38-58.
In the third quarter Riyadi had to hold back a strong Jala’a back lash but they were able to restrict their opponents to shots from distance with Woods dominant under the rim against Walker.
Johnson and Woods continued to torment the Syrian side’s defense while Turk and Ibrahim kept up the threat from outside.
Riyadi brought on Ali Fakheridinne so they could retain a height advantage in order to dominate on defense as Riyadi won out a key quarter taking a 77-60 lead into the final 10 minutes where they locked out their gutsy opponents for a crucial win.
The two sides will meet for game 4 in Manara Tuesday.
——–Agencies