Al Riyadi to bank on homecourt edge in bid to sweep Gorgan in crucial Game 2

BEIRUT (Lebanon) - It would be hard to lose at home.

Al Riyadi head coach Ahmad El Farran firmly believes so, as he's confident with the Lebanese powerhouse's chances of finishing off Gorgan on Wednesday night to emerge as the first-ever WASL-West Asia League champions.

Game 2 of the best-of-3 affair is set at 21:45 local time at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex in Zouk Mikael, indeed a bigger venue than the Saeb Salam Stadium in Manara and could house even more of their ever-supportive faithful.

"It was our ambition to take the lead 1-0. Now, it's gonna be hard for us to lose at home," said the veteran mentor, who returned to the club earlier in the year.

"It's not gonna be easy playing in Beirut in front of our fans. It's gonna be hard for Gorgan to win and we will make sure to win it hard," he added.

Farran offered as much moments after Al Riyadi took Game 1 by way of an 87-79 decision last Thursday at the Azadi Basketball Hall in Tehran.

It was their second win in three meetings over the Iranian side this season, but it didn't come easy as the visiting crew needed to fend off a furious fourth-quarter rally that saw them give up a 15-point lead and trail by a field goal, 66-68.

Main man Wael Arakji struck the dagger with a tough jumper for the 81-74 lead with under a minute left to play, punctuating their 15-6 rally to close it out -- a rally which the 1-2 combo of Duop Reath and Kevin Murphy also made happen.

"This is the game of basketball. It's like a roller-coaster. Sometimes you go up, sometimes you go down. You need to stay focused, stay locked in, and stay patient. That's what we did," said Arakji, who finished with 22 points.

With that elite composure, Al Riyadi have positioned themselves to clinch the crown on Wednesday night, but it is not lost on them that they will still have to go through the reigning two-time Iranian champs, who are surely out for payback.

That major scare they gave out in Game 1, despite the result, was more than enough for the squad to keep their heads up high as they enter enemy territory anew.

Coach Mehran Hatani himself isn't fazed as he trusts his wards' ability to defy the odds, particularly the hostile crowd they're going to encounter in Game 2.

"Each game has its own chance for both teams and the players have enough experience to play [in an] away [game] and get the result. I think that we will play much, much better than before," said the champion bench tactician.

Hatani will once again be banking on his star duo of Mohammed Jamshidi and Behnam Yakhchali, who orchestrated their second-half comeback.

FIBA