League is around...what do you expect from the teams?

[daniab]

Too many changes took place during the summer,most of the teams signed and released lots of players.

Starting by the defending champion Al Riyadi who released Ismael Ahmad,Fadi El khatib and Moe Ibrahim.They added Jean Abdelnour and Rodrigue Akl.
As for their foreigners,finally Riyadi inked with two good foreigners from the start of the league and they are Nate Johnson and CJ Giles.

Expectations: Riyadi set a goal for this year which is winning the Asian Champions Cup,their work was concentrated on finding a good center after 3 years suffering from lacking a good center in the international tournaments.
For the league,they r still the favorite with the trio Vogel-Nate-CJ giles starting up with Abdelnour and Ali Mahmoud.They also have a good bench with Omar Turk,Rodrigue Akl,Ali Fakhreddine,Hussein Tawbe.
For the int'l tournament,Matt Freije will join them and if the chemistry was available,Riyadi is really dangerous this year!

Mouttahed
the runner up was very late this year in starting their preparations unlike the past few years.For the first time since years,Mouttahed brings their foreigners few days before the start of the league and the reasons are apparently related to the budget.
Mouttahed released the trio Roy Samaha-Darren Kelly-Tony Williams,kept Elie Rustom,Mazen Mneimneh,Moe Akkari,Moe Fahes,Tarek Hawchar and signed Ramy Akiki,Moe Ibrahim,Bassel Bawji,Bassem Balaa,Hassan Lakis and Jad Bitar.
For the foreigners,they signed Mike Christensen and Aleksandar Bojic!

Expectations: Coach Vujanic is in serious test this year,the open budget for the foreigners is not longer available at Mouttahed (their old weapon is gone) and they r now relying on their mid-level local and foreign players,will they succeed?
For the league,their lineup is really poor in front of teams like Champville and Riyadi although the possibility of beating them is also there.
For the int'l tournaments,i dont think they can go far unless they decided to at least get back Darren Kelly which if it happens will certainly increase their hope to win the Lebanese league and maybe competing internationally!

Champville
Best lineup since 2004,Fadi is eager to prove himself again with talented players around like Elie Estephan,Ghaleb Rida,Miguel Martinez...
They kept Chris Charles (213-C) and inked with Greg Danielson (206-F)

Expectations: their team is really good,their chances of winning the league is higher than before.They started their preparations earlier this year which will surely increase the chemistry btw the players.
Internationally,they will only participate in Dubai and Aleppo tournaments.I believe they r ready to compete on those tournaments.

[daniab]

Sagesse
The team was formed in the last minutes of the signing period,despite that they could sign some good local players like Patrick Bou Abboud,Ralph Akl and Roy Samaha beside their old players Nadim Souaid,Joe Ghattas,David Derghyiyian and Brian Beshara.
The team didnt sign yet any foreigners so its hard to predict anything before seeing what kind of imports they will have.

Antranik
One of the most improved teams,they signed many good players like Anis Feghali,Moe Akkad,Marwan Ziede,Charbel El Sokhen and Elias Gerges beside their old players Rudy Farraj,Yervant Avakian,Hosep Lochkajian...
Their foreigners are really special this year,Sean Colson and Mike Benton,both are really good and i expect them to be the dark horse this season.

Expectations: Antranik can make big upsets this season,so i dont doubt their chances of making the semi finals.

[daniab]

Hoops
Their goal for the first year in the div 1 is to enter the final 6,their lineup is really young and promising with the addition of Center Moe Hamdar and forwards Anthony Yamin and Hussein kanso and guards Amir Saoud and Hussein Khatib.

Expectations: honestly their team is capable of being in the top 6,Ricky Clemons seems to be a great player and we have to wait to see if Demetrius brown will be useful with the team considering that the team have no real "center"!

Kahraba
for the small budget required,they made a good team with some young faces like Maek Nar,Joey Zalaoum with the addition of Georges Badawi,Ray dagher and Michel Hakim.

Expectations: everything is related to their foreigners,both of them arent expensive (around 3k) so we have to see what kind of impact they will have on the team to decide their chances this year of being in the top 6!

[Laziz]

Nice thread Daniab, and nice analysis, I will give my own opinion but more briefly

Riyadi: Despite loosing Khatib and Ahmad, the team is still the favorite to win the league this year, they added very good local players, and their foreigner are excellent (on the other side they are almost as expensive as the foreigners of all the other team reunited, do the math if you want ). I don't really see a weakness in any position, their only problems might come from non related basketball stuff.

Champville:: Or Fadi's team, every year Fadi's team is a title contender, so if Fadi stays in Champville, they will contend for the title sure, but I doubt they will win it. They have a lot of raw talents, but can they play together with just one ball ?
They have a lot of weakness in the team, at PG position first, I don't think Karl/Miguel are a match for Ali/Rodrigue. Their foreigners are good but limited, Chris is an excellent defensive player, but his offensive skills are average (even if he averaged 18ppg last season), Greg is a good threat from outside but he can't create his points.
If Champville can play together, they are a very dangerous team, if not, they won't even reach the final 4.

Mottahed: Williams and Kelly averaged together more then 50ppg last year, they were the backbone of the team, they are not here anymore. Can Christiansen and Bojic replace them ? I seriously doubt.
I think it will all depend on how well they can work in the system of Coach Toni.
I don't believe their local PG's can replace Kelly. Ibrahim, Akiki and Lakkis are all SG that are playing PG, and no one of them is a floor general that will pass the ball. They also didn't replace Roy Samaha, I don't think Bassel Bawji can fill his place under the basket, and I will say it once again Bojic is not a center, he is an excellent player but he is a PF/SF (like Marcus Melvin, Ismail Ahmad ...), if they wanna play him center it's their decision but he is not a 5.

Sagesse: They have so many problems internally, that it could destroy even the most promising team. So I won't stay long here, but I believe they badly need perimeter player, because they seriously lack of outside shooting.

To be continued Part II: Antranik, Hoops, Anibal, Kahraba

[daniab]

I agree on every single world you said Laziz.
I just want to add that Mouttahed represents to me a big disappointment for this season.I thought that this team will never fall but honestly this year im not very comfortable about their situation.
Despite having more talented local players but still its not enough to be a title contender and whatever they tried to convince us abt Mike Christensen,our reply is simply that Mike isnt the type of players to play on team like Mouttahed!

I pick Riyadi to win the league,Champville to follow them closely and Antranik the darkhorse for this season!

[Laziz]

Thank you Daniab,
I will continue my review.

Antranik: I don't really agree with Daniab on them, they have a very good line up, they lost Patrick Bou Abboud but replaced him very well, they have very good young Lebanese talents (Farraj, Feghali, Ziade), their imports are very good (despite Colson's age he is an excellent player), but I don't really see them contending for the final 4 this year, I don't really believe in coach Nasr capabilities to lead a team, I hope he prove me wrong.

Hoops: The darkhorse in my opinion , very small team, very small budget, very big hearts. If they can play their game the whole season, without injuries and foul trouble, I think they can play with anyone. They seriously lack of an inside game, but their quick style of play doesn't need a center. Hope Hamdar will be up to the expectations. Their two imports are very good, Ricky Clemons had excellent pre season games, and Demetrius Brown played excellent in Hariri tournament with Champville. This team can do good.

Anibal: They decided to build a gym instead of having a strong team, good choice on the long run. I think Anibal is one of the weakest team this
season. They have an unexperienced coach, the same old players, I don't like the profile of their foreigners, Curtis Slaughter didn't impress me with Kahraba Iraq last season, and I find Ronald Alexander more then average . On a positive note, I am liking the emergence of Bachir Saad, who can become one of the best SF of the league, I hope he won't end up like other promising talent out of anibal Bachir Ammoury and Jihad el Murr)

Kahraba: Last and Least.
Q: What can you expect from a team coached by Professor/Doctor Tony Khalil.
A: To lose every single game they are involved to.

[ayman n]

I don't really believe in coach Nasr capabilities to lead a team, I hope he prove me wrong.

I think you're totally wrong. Elie Nasr in my opinion he is one of the best coaches ever came to lebanon, and in few years he should be our nt coach.

Antranik is a very good team by having the best coach Elie Nasr and duo Roudy Farraj and Charbel Sokhen( I think he will be one of the best forward/center in the league he is a great forward in my opinion)

Antranik will definetly compete to enter the final four

[kenna anna]

Next season is expected to be full of drama and change, with the signing and release of many players in the summer. Teams such as Al Riyadi, Mouttahed, and Champville are all taking strategic steps to strengthen their squads and improve their chances in domestic and international competition. Additionally, amidst the anticipation, enthusiasts eagerly await the unveiling of the rice purity test scores, adding an intriguing layer to the upcoming season.