SINGAPORE (Singapore) - Not a lot of teams can say they won a treble crown, and yet, Al Riyadi Club Beirut could go on to make it a unique quad crown in 2024.
They already won the Lebanese Basketball League, for the 31st time in their club history, the most in Lebanese basketball.
They won the FIBA West Asia Super League, washing out the bad taste of finishing fourth in 2023.
And they won the Basketball Champions League Asia, tying their arch-rivals Sagesse at the top of the all-time list of the elite Asian continental club competition (the newly launched BCL Asia has replaced FIBA Asia Champions Cup).
Winning the BCL Asia title came with a special reward, as Al Riyadi earned their first ever trip to the FIBA Intercontinental Cup.
Who are they?
Al Riyadi are coming from the Manara district in Beirut, Lebanon. The club celebrated its 90th birthday this year, and while they are considered a multi-sport society, their basketball program is what they are mostly known for.
Early on, they were easily the most dominant basketball team in Lebanon, winning nine league titles between 1950 and 1960, but went through a slump after 1973 and collected a total of three championships across 32 years.
Their resurgence began in 2005 and they went on to win 15 Lebanese League trophies since then, including the back-to-back conquests of 2023 and 2024.
Internationally, they are the most successful team in BCL Asia (FIBA Asia Champions Cup) history, winning the event three times, with another three Finals appearances.
Al Riyadi players make up the core of the Lebanese national team, with Amir Saoud, Karim Zeinoun, Ali Mansour and Hayk Gyokchyan representing them at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Spain earlier this summer.
You notice the name Wael Arakji missing there. The biggest star of both the Lebanese national team and Al Riyadi missed this summer's event to attend the birth of his first child, but he is back in action now, motivated more than ever to prove his worth on an international level once again.
How did they get here?
The competition was named the Asian Basketball Club Championship back in 1981, then rebranded as the FIBA Asia Champions Cup in 2004, before finally becoming the Basketball Champions League Asia in 2024.
Due to Covid regulations, the 2020 edition in Guangzhou and the 2022 edition in Dubai were cancelled, but the long wait made Al Riyadi determined to send a message in 2024.
They opened up their BCL Asia account with a 3-0 sweep in Group A in June, scoring in triple digits in all three games against Liaoning Flying Leopards, Shabab Al Ahli and NS Matrix Deers.
Al Riyadi counted to 121 points, with 14 assists by Arakji in the Semi-Finals against Hiroshima Dragonflies, and they were even better in the Final, defeating Shabab Al Ahli again, 122-96.
Wael Arakji was not only the top passer of the event, but also the MVP of the entire competition. He averaged 20.8 points, including a 31-point outing in the Final, with 8.4 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and an efficiency rating of 29.2 per game.
Thon Maker was the other Al Riyadi member to make it to the BCL Asia All-Star Five.
Why should we watch them?
They are one of those teams who put emphasis on having fun while winning, and their free flowing basketball made them one of the highest scoring teams in the world in 2024.
A lot has to do with the coach Ahmad Farran handing the reigns of the offense to Wael Arakji, and the Lebanese hybrid of Goran Dragic and Manu Ginobili keeps on delivering with each passing year.
The lefty guard is the score-first kind of player, but even with that mindset, he was still able to lead the BCL Asia in assists per game earlier this year. When he's feeling it, his outside shooting can hurt you a lot, as he shot an incredible 10-of-14 from beyond the arc during the championship winning run.
Another big name for them is Elmedin Kikanovic. The center from Bosnia and Herzegovina has been around for a long time, establishing himself as one of the best big guys in European basketball in the 2010s, before making the move to Al Riyadi in 2022.
He is now 36, but his size and finishing around the rim are as good as ever.
Who will they play in Singapore?
They did not have a lot of luck during the draw, ending up in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2024 Group A, alongside two powerhouses from Spain and Angola.
Al Riyadi join the action on Day 2, taking on the Basketball Champions League Europe winners Unicaja on September 13. Just 24 hours later, they will be back in action, taking on BAL champions Petro de Luanda.
If they win the group, they will play the Final on September 15. If they finish second, they move to the Third-Place Game. If they end the group stage behind both Unicaja and Petro de Luanda, they have the battle for fifth place on the final day of action.