Draft:Sagesse vs Beirut brawl

The Beirut Brawl

Beirut Club Sagesse SC 87 89
Game ended
1 2 3 4 Total Beirut Club 25 20 19 23 87 Sagesse SC 29 26 15 19 89
Date	November 19, 2023
Venue	Chiyah Stadium, Chiyah, Baabda District, Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon.
Referees	Rabah Njeim George Skayem
Attendance	1000
Network	MTV Lebanon SBI International

The brawl between Sagesse SC and Beirut Club was a fight, involving players, that occurred during a Lebanese Basketball League (LBL) game between the Sagesse and Beirut on November 19, 2023 at the Chiyah Stadium in Chiyah, near Beirut

With Sagesse leading 76-71 and 5 minutes left in the game, Beirut center Ali Haidar tried to pass the ball but found no receptor and caused a turnover thanks to Karim Ezzedine's defense. A furious Haidar then headbutted Ezzedine, and a fight broke out on the court between players from both squads.

After the players were separated, referees discussed punishments for the players who broke the rules. After 30 minutes of interruption, all but 8 players were expelled from the arena, marking a historic event in the local league were less than 5 players played in a single team, let alone from both teams. Sagesse went on to win the game 89-87.

Background

After the withdrawal of Dynamo, Sagesse acquired Jad el Hajj, the national coach, in their ranks, and became a challenger in the title. They won their previous 3 games against Antonine Club (84-60), Antranik Youth Association 59-51 and Homenetmen (85-79). A win against Beirut would lead Sagesse to the top of the table.

Beirut were the favourites for the title, as they bought Ali Mezher, Sergio Darwish, Jean-Marc Jarrouge and coach Joe Ghattas from Sagesse. This would obviously lead to a heated game between the two of them. With a strengthened squad, they were predicted to win the title. If they lose against Sagesse however, they'd end up 3rd, behind Al Riyadi, who had a shock loss against Antonine (87-75). Beirut won against NSA 94-76, Champville SC (112-79) and Hoops Club (99-80).

Game and fight

The game was tight between the two of them, exchanging the lead multiple times. However, by the 4th quarter, Sagesse consolidated its lead, with a gap as big as 12 pts. However, by the 4th quarter, Beirut were slowly gaining on them, reducing the gap to 5 pts.

With 6 minutes to go, Sagesse player Georges Williams missed a field net, and Ali Haidar picked the rebound for Beirut, who passes to Dar Tucker, who gives a missed pass, picked by George Williams who couldn't control the ball. Ali Haidar picks the ball and passes to Sergio Darwish, who passes the ball back to Ali, defended by Karim Ezzedine. Ali Haidar tried to pass to Dar Tucker, but it went out of the court, causing a turnover.

Ali Haidar and Karim Ezzedine trash-talked between each other, leading to Haidar headbutting Karim, causing the brawl. The players on and off the court tried to stop the brawl, with few players such as Rodrigue Akl and Waverly Austin not intervening.

After the players were separated, the referees reviewed the incident for 30 minutes, and took a historical decision: out of the 24 players present, only 8 were allowed to play the rest of the game: Radhouane Slimane, Omar Jamaleddine, Ahmad Ibrahim and Waverly Austin for Sagesse, and Ali Mezher, Sergio Darwish, Cliff Alexander and Dar Tucker for Beirut. The remaining 16 players were ejected from the arena and have disqualified fouls them, meaning they'll not play the next game for each team.

The game resumed in an unusual 4v4 game, the first time in the Lebanese Basketball's history. It is to noted that Ali Mezher, Sergio Darwish, Cliff Alexander, Radhouane Sleimane were in foul-trouble. With 33 seconds remaining however, Sergio Darwish fouls Omar Jamaleddine, ending his game with 5 fouls. Beirut has 3 players remaining, but the gap is shrinking between the two team (Sagesse was leading 87-85 at that point). 30 seconds later, Ali Mezher fouled Slimane, and Beirut was reduced to 2 players. Sagesse would win the historic game 89-87.

Aftermath

Ahmad Ibrahim was interviewed. He stated that it's the first time for everything, it was a big win, and that he played well. Charbel Rizk, WABA secretary, stated that the referees abided by the rules, and that the rules should be applied. Sagesse's assistant coach Viktor Janketic stated it was a big first win (he replaced Jad el Hajj due to illness), and Sagesse president Samir Saleh and member of the Lebanese Basketball Association, stated that his team must fight, and that the team will be a better team.

Sagesse faced Mayrouba will the full team, winning narrowly 81-79 after overtime. Beirut won their next game against Antonine 89-83