The 2022–23 Lebanese Basketball League, also known as the Division 1,[1] is the 27th season of the Lebanese Basketball League (LBL), the top-tier competition for professional men's teams in Lebanon. The season began on 2 October 2022.[2]
| 2022–23 LBL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Lebanese Basketball League |
| Duration | 2 October 2022 – 29 May 2023 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Regular Season | |
| Season champions | Dynamo |
| Runners-up | Sagesse |
| Third place | Beirut Club |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Al Riyadi |
| Runners-up | Dynamo |
Beirut were the defending champions, having won the previous season. They finished fourth in the season, after losing to Sagesse 82–73 for 3rd place.
Teams
editThe league expanded from ten to twelve teams. Moutahed left the league, while Antranik, NSA and Leaders Club joined for this season.
| Team | City | Arena | Coach | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Riyadi | Beirut (Manara) | Saeb Salam Arena | Ahmad Farran | 2,500 |
| Antranik | Antelias | AGBU Demirdjian Center | Sabah Khoury | 2,000 |
| Atlas | Ferzol | St Joseph des Soeurs Antonines Arena Zahleh | Elie Nasr | 2,000 |
| Beirut Club | Beirut (Chiyah) | Chiyah Stadium | Ahmad Yammout | 2,000 |
| Byblos Club | Byblos | Michel Sleiman Sports Village | Georges Yaacoub | 1,500 |
| Champville | Dik El Mehdi | Champville Club Center | 750 | |
| Dynamo | Beirut (Saifi Village) | Rockland Arena | Jad el Hajj | 1,000 |
| Homenetmen | Mezher | Homentmen Mezher | Joe Moujaes | 1,000 |
| Hoops Club | Jdeideh | Michel El Murr Complex | Ziad el Natour | 1,750 |
| Leaders Club | Zouk Mosbeh | Louaize Stadium | 1,000 | |
| NSA | Jounieh | Fouad Chehab Stadium | 1,230 | |
| Sagesse | Beirut (Achrafieh) | Antoine Choueiri Stadium | Joe Ghattas | 5,000 |
Regular season
editBefore the season, Champville rebranded as Maristes due to a conflict between the school and the club. Also losing their homecourt, Maristes used the Central Court in Jounieh before using the Antoine Choueiri Stadium in Ghazir as homecourt.
Sagesse and Dynamo fought for the season lead before Dynamo stayed there after their home win against Sagesse. Beirut finished third after defeating Riyadi 105–99 at Riyadi's home court and the latter settled for fourth.
Leaders finished 5th due to their face-to-face advantage against Maristes who finished 6th.
Hoops finished 7th being the only team not in the top 4 to end the regular season with a positive point difference.
Homenetmen finished 8th in the last game after a crucial win against Antranik who also fought for 8th. Coach Marwan Khalil transformed Homenetmen from a relegation-zone team to a midfield team and qualified for the second round
NSA finished 10th in their first season, Atlas finished 11th and will face the runner-up of the 2nd division Final in the relegation playoff while Byblos finished last and is directly relegated to second division.
| Pos | 2022–23 Lebanese Basketball League regular season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Status: In progress | |
| 1 | Dynamo | 22 | 21 | 1 | 2006 | 1529 | +477 | Qualified |
| 2 | Sagesse | 22 | 20 | 2 | 2089 | 1529 | +560 | Qualified |
| 3 | Beirut Club | 22 | 18 | 4 | 2030 | 1658 | +372 | Qualified |
| 4 | Al Riyadi | 22 | 17 | 5 | 2086 | 1705 | +381 | Qualified |
| 5 | Champville | 22 | 10 | 12 | 1607 | 1760 | –153 | Qualified |
| 6 | Leaders Club | 22 | 10 | 12 | 1707 | 1861 | –154 | Qualified |
| 7 | Hoops Club | 22 | 9 | 13 | 1639 | 1619 | +20 | Qualified |
| 8 | Homenetmen | 22 | 8 | 14 | 1728 | 2014 | –286 | Qualified |
| 9 | Antranik | 22 | 7 | 15 | 1688 | 1987 | -299 | |
| 10 | NSA | 22 | 6 | 16 | 1651 | 1779 | -128 | |
| 11 | Atlas | 22 | 4 | 18 | 1691 | 2052 | -361 | Relegation play-offs |
| 12 | Byblos Club | 22 | 2 | 20 | 1588 | 2017 | -429 | Relegated |
Second stage
editThe second stage began on 8 April 2023.[3]
Signing Duop Reath proved to be crucial for Riyadi, as they ended up top their group, Dynamo second, Leaders third and Homenetmen 4th
Sagesse continued to dominate their group, while Beirut finished 2nd, Hoops 3rd despite a shocking win over Beirut, and Maristes a disappointing 4th
Finals
editIn the first semi-final, Riyadi defeated Sagesse 3–0 on tight margins (4, 5 and 3 pts). Duop Reath proved again to be a crucial player for Riyadi.
In the other semi-final, Dynamo destroyed Beirut, even with the return of Shabazz Muhammad in Beirut's ranks.
The first game of the final ended in a shock win for Dynamo against Riyadi 87–78. The absence of Karim Zeinoun affected the team, the Lebanese players were virtually absent, which profited Dynamo to take the win
Riyadi made a comeback against Dynamo, with multiples 3 pts scored, especially by Karim Zeinoun, voted Man of the Match. The game ended 92–84 for Riyadi at home.
At the third game, Dynamo had the lead at the first half before fumbling it with multiple missed shots and loads of turnovers. Riyadi managed to win the game 82–73.
| Final 4
(Best of 5) | Finals
(Best of 7) | ||||||
| Dynamo | 3 | ||||||
| Beirut | 0 | ||||||
| Dynamo | 1 | ||||||
| Al Riyadi | 4 | ||||||
| Sagesse | 0 | ||||||
| Al Riyadi | 3 | ||||||
References
edit- ^ "DIVISION 1 – MEN - Lebanese Basketball Federation". Lebanese Basketball Federation - Love The Game. 2021-09-06. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
- ^ "goalzz.com: Live sports scores, news and more". www.goalzz.com. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
- ^ "Lebanese Lebanese Basketball League, News, Teams, Scores, Stats, Standings, Awards - asia-basket". www.asia-basket.com. Retrieved 2023-04-17.