BEIRUT: Anibal Zahle picked up a win in the first game of the Final Eight to fully entrench themselves in third place. A comfortable 103-85 win over a one-sided team in Byblos was enough to move Anibal Zahle six points clear of their opponents, who sit in fourth place.

While Desmond Pennigar again put in a virtuoso performance for Byblos, scoring 37 points and grabbing 16 rebounds as well as blocking three shots, the home side were too predictable for a rapidly improving Anibal Zahle.

Blowout first and third quarters gave Anibal Zahle a much more comfortable win than they had expected going into the match, but Byblos were simply unable to match Anibal Zahle’s sharp shooting throughout the contest.

Anibal put on an impressive display, having five players score in double figures, keep their floor spacing with 44 percent 3-point shooting and locking down the paint on the defensive end thanks to Ndudi Ebi’s six block shots.

Byblos’ shooting woes started early on, missing all five of their first quarter 3-point shots. Anibal Zahle had a much more fluid offense, with solid ball rotation helping players find open looks.

An open first quarter ended with Anibal Zahle in a 28-18 lead.

With eight minutes gone in the second quarter, Byblos were only able to cut the deficit down to seven points at 48-41 until a Pennigar-led rally saw the home side break the lead down to just two points within a minute at 49-47.

Pennigar scored the last basket of the half to send the teams into halftime at 53-49 to Anibal Zahle.

Another poor shooting performance in the third quarter saw Byblos slip behind quickly, allowing a 10-point deficit to open in five minutes before Ebi went down injured.

By the end of the quarter, Anibal Zahle held a commanding lead at 74-60 before coasting in for the easy win.