FIBA Asia Champions Cup Set to Tip Off
The 23rd FIBA Asia Champions Cup begins today in Beirut, Lebanon with five squads representing four Asian sub-zones ready to tip off.
Competing in the 2012 edition of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup are:
East Asia: Energy Resources Falcons (Mongolia)
Persian Gulf: Duhok (Iraq)
Central Asia: Belent Ashgabat (Turkmenistan)
West Asia: Al-Riyadi (Lebanon) and Mahram Tehran (Iran)
The Preliminary Round will begin today, Oct. 15th, and run through Friday, Oct. 19th. During the Preliminary Round each team will play the other four teams and the top four teams will advance to the Final Round, which will begin on Sat., Oct. 20th with the Semi-Finals. The Championship and bronze medal games will be held on Sunday, Oct. 21st.
The host club, Al-Riyadi, won the 22nd FIBA Asia Champions Cup, defeating Mahram Tehran in the Championship Game (pictured above receiving their trophy), 91-82, behind a 41-point performance by Fadi El Khatib. Team mates Loren Woods and Ismail Ahmed hauled in 16 and 15 rebounds in the contest for the winners. In the tournament, el Khatib averaged 21.0 points per game over seven games and behind his impressive stats in the Championship, he was named the Tournament MVP. El Khatib is not returning for this year’s Cup, but Woods is, all 2.18m of him. Woods is an American, but the competition rules allow for two import players on a roster. Woods has six years of NBA experience having played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Miami Heat, the Toronto Raptors and the Houston Rockets.
As of a news article on the FIBA Asia Champions Cup website, dated Oct. 10th, United Arab Emirates club Al Shabab was scheduled to play as the second representative of the Persian Gulf sub-zone. The competition website has been modified to remove them from the tournament with no explanation and the competition Wikipedia page was updated on Oct. 15 to remove them as well.
Current FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2012 Preliminary Round Schedule
Monday, Oct. 15
17:00 Belent Asgabat – Al Riyadi
19:30 Energy Resources Falcons – Mahram Tehran
(Listed game times are GMT +3)
Tuesday, Oct. 16
17:00 Al Riyadi – ER Falcons
19:30 Mahram Tehran – Duhok
Wednesday, Oct. 17
17:00 Al Riyadi – Duhok
19:30 ER Falcons – Belent Asgabat
Thursday, Oct. 18
17:00 Belent Asgabat – Mahram Tehran
19:30 Duhok – ER Falcons
Friday, Oct. 19
17:00 Mahram Tehran – Al Riyadi
19:30 Belent Asgabat – Duhok
Semi-Finals
Saturday, Oct. 20
18:00 Preliminary Round Seed 2 – Preliminary Round Seed 3
20:30 Preliminary Round Seed 1 – Preliminary Round Seed 4
Finals
Sunday, Oct. 21
3/4 Game
18:00 Loser PR2 v PR3 – Loser PR1 v PR4
Championship
21:30 Winner PR2 v PR3 – Winner PR1 v PR4