Strong Group falls short of title after opponent's buzzer-beater

MANILA, Philippines – Strong Group Athletics’ dream run in the Dubai International Basketball Championship came to a heartbreaking end after a buzzer-beater by Ismail Ahmad Abdelmoneim gave Al Riyadi Club the championship, 77-74, Monday morning (Manila time).

With the Philippine-based squad trailing by three, Jordan Heading tied the game up at 74 with about a minute remaining in the game. 

After Elmedin Kikanovic missed a deuce, SGA had a chance to win the game. 

The ball found the hands of Andre Roberson, who launched a trey and missed. 

Wael Arakji then rushed to the other side of the court, drove to the basket and kicked it out to Ahmad, who was waiting on the right wing. 

He launched the ball with about a second remaining and connected exactly as the buzzer sounded. 

It was a heartbreaking defeat for SGA, which came back from being down by double digits. 

The Philippines-based squad trailed by as much as 19 points, 51-32, in the third quarter of the game as they simply could not find the mark. 

SGA was simply out of sorts as Al Riyadi still led by 19, 57-38, after a couple of trips down the floor. 

They then ended the quarter with a 19-4 run to cut the lead to just four, 61-57, with a jumper by Andre Roberson. 

The Philippine team then continued the onslaught and started the fourth quarter with eight straight points capped by a 3-pointer by Roberson to take a 65-61 lead with 8:25 remaining. 

The run was halted by a hook shot by Kikanovic to cut the lead to two, 65-63. 

This triggered a 9-2 run capped by a trey by Saoud to give Al Riyadi a 72-67 lead. 

A 7-2 SGA run then tied the game up at 74, leading to the dizzying finale.

Gabriel Harries led Al Riyadi with 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Arakji added 16 points, three rebounds and three assists. 

Roberson paced SGA with 24 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals. 

Dwight Howard followed with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Heading had 17 points and two rebounds. 

SGA’s leading scorer in the tournament, Kevin Quiambao, laid an egg in the final, going scoreless and recording just four rebounds. He could not connect in his five field goal attempts. 

The Philippine squad only had five players who scored. Aside from Roberson, Howard and Heading, Mckenzie Moore had 12 points and Andray Blatche had three. 

Al Riyadi won back-to-back championships in the tournament. It is the same team that handed the SGA an early exit last year.