BEIRUT: Riyadi will look to extend their unbeaten start to the second half of the regular season when they play Wednesday against home favorites Anibal Zahle at Antonine Sister Stadium. The game is a replay of a matchup that was postponed in Round 6 of the regular season.

Anibal Zahle have been riding a wave of optimism in the past week after clinching the first title in their history a week ago, having won the 23rd Dubai International tournament over Al-Ahli of UAE 89-79 in the final match.

Simultaneously, Riyadi were topping Group A in the preliminary round of the WABA league, before they resumed their league campaign Sunday winning the local derby over arch-rivals Sagesse 77-71 in Round 7.

Fouad Abou Chakra’s men were desperately short of their usual form Sunday, shooting only 24 percent from the 3-point line, but were able to escape the derby as winners. Zone defense (2-3) proved once again to be a winning strategy for Abou Chakra as Sagesse only scored six points in the third quarter to give up their halftime lead before Jean Abdul-Nour and Dewarick Spencer clinched the game in the final quarter.

While the win wasn’t pretty, it is a telltale sign of a champion when a team is able to win an important match without playing particularly well. That alone will give Riyadi confidence that they can slug out a win in Zahle.

However, Anibal Zahle are imperious at home, having won five games out of six so far this season. The last time Anibal Zahle defeated the seven-time consecutive Lebanese champions happened to be in Zahle, last season when the home side won 62-57 on Dec. 11, 2011.

Riyadi did however come out on top the last time the two sides met a month ago in Manara, winning 95-71.

Elsewhere Wednesday, Sagesse will look to recover after their heartbreaking loss to Riyadi, when they host Hoops Club in Ghazir. Both teams are close in the league table with the same amount of wins (five each), meaning a victory for either side will guarantee a jump up the standings.

Hoops Club are yet to prove themselves without their Nigerian scorer Chamberlain Oguchi, who has been replaced by American Johnathan Hurd. Their roster has gone through numerous changes since the winter break, as they have now two new foreigners, Hurd and Vernon Hamilton, who replaced Ricky Clemons earlier in the season.

Despite defeat, last Sunday Sagesse put in their best performance so far this season as the team showed progress in terms of chemistry and competence. However, the unfortunate news came from the medical room, as Daniel Faris, 24, will need surgery on his left knee after picking up another ACL tear against Riyadi, which will once again deprive Faris of a full season.

Faris, who had a similar injury last summer and was ruled out of action for six months, had been drafted into the side to provide size and skill at the power-forward position and Sagesse will struggle to compete inside the paint in his absence.