BEIRUT: Anibal Zahle moved up to fourth place Wednesday in the Lebanese Basketball League after beating Byblos 95-79 while Champville stay perfect at the top of the table with a comfortable 88-71 win over Hoops Club.

Champville put in a performance typical of a legitimate contender, taking a significant lead early on, killing the game off in the third quarter and walking in to an easy win.

Hoops Club came out on top of the rebound battle but poor shooting, turnovers and a lack of ball movement denied the home side a genuine chance of toppling the league leaders.

In a performance of ruthless team play, Champville had six players scoring in double figures with Fadi al-Khatib scoring a team high 19 points as well as playing as the team’s primary facilitator handing out nine assists.

Champville ran out into a 26-12 lead in the first quarter as Hoops Club shot an ugly 26 percent from the field as well as allowing Champville to get to the foul line too often.

Hoops’ shooting woes continued in the second quarter but they were able to hold Champville down from the field.

The home side were able to get the scores to within 10 points but a late rally from Champville put the league leaders ahead by 15 at halftime at 43-28.

A ruthless third quarter gave Champville a 12-point lead at 67-45 before the bench came on to settle the win.

Elsewhere, Lebanese basketball was given a boost Wednesday as Beirut was named as the host city for the 2012 Asian Champions Cup. Lebanese champions Riyadi are the current holders of Asian club basketball’s biggest prize and will defend their title between June 2 and June 10. Beirut last hosted the competition in 2000 when Sagesse were named Asian champions.