Al Riyadi record 32 assists, keep Al Shorta winless for 2-0 start

BAGHDAD (Iraq) - Al Riyadi kept Al Shorta in search of a win, 115-83, to pick up another victory in the FIBA West Asia Super League (WASL) Season 2, Thursday night at the Al Shaeb Hall.

The reigning West Asia League champions immediately took control of the game before breaking away in the second chapter to remain on top of Group B with a clean 2-0 record.

Meanwhile, the home team remained last in the standings with a 0-2 card. They're one of only two teams in the sub-zone league yet to rack up a W, the other being Al Naft (0-3).

Game heroes: Six players finished in double figures in the triumph, with Bosnian big man Elmedin Kikanovic leading the pack with a game-high 28 points alongside 5 rebounds.

Sani Sakakini back-stopped his fellow veteran with 26 points on 7-of-11 field goal shooting with 7 rebounds, while Karim Zeinoun scored 18 as the two sank four triples each.

Wael Arakji notched a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists, together with 5 rebounds, while Mohamad Bilal Tabbara and American guard Manny Harris added 10 points each.

Ali Mansour showed superb playmaking as he collected 14 assists, on top of his 4 points, 2 rebounds, and 6 steals, as the crew put together a dominant showing despite manpower woes.

Al Riyadi only had 10 players lined up, although Amir Saoud didn't see action due to a groin injury. The team would play with only eight players later on after Hayk Gyokchyan left the game at the 3:35 mark of the opening quarter due to a facial injury following an inadvertent hit.

STEP AHEAD Player of the Game: Arakji earned STEP AHEAD Player of the Game, which he deservingly earned after a turnover-less outing. He finished with an efficiency of 29.

Turning point: Al Riyadi were actually clinging to a slim lead early in the second period until Tabbara, Arakji, and Sakakini strung together a 7-0 run en route to a 36-23 lead. The game would never be close as the team erupted for 38 points in the said period alone for a 67-36 halftime lead.

Stats don't lie: Al Riyadi reset the FIBA WASL all-time single-game record for most assists with 32, eclipsing the 31 made by reigning league champs Manama last December 5. Twenty-five of their assists came from the backcourt tandem of Arakji and Mansour.

They said, "It's very important for us when we play away to win. We did it. We played three quarters of great basketball, but in the third quarter, we were relaxed and loose because of the bug difference. But in the end, we managed to end the game the way we started. I'm so happy with my players. We did the important thing, which is to win and keep leading our group." - Ahmad Farran, Head Coach, Al Riyadi

"They scored 41 points from our turnovers, we only scored six. It means they scored very easy points. They doubled, or more, our assists, we doubled the turnovers. That was really crazy. But looking at the game, we're playing against Al Riyadi -- in my opinion Al Riyadi is the best team in the continent. They have a wonderful team. Most of their players are in the Lebanese national team and we know how strong they are. They've been playing together. I didn't expect a win against Riyadi but definitely we expected to play better." - Ghassan Sarkis, Head Coach, Al Shorta

FIBA