Champville wins Lebanese Championship for the first time

The Champville won the 2011-2012 Lebanese Championship for the first time in its history, upsetting Anibal with a score of 57-63.    

A large part of the Anibal audience was absent from the game in Zahle after online appeals were posted on the Lebanese Forces website calling on March 14 supporters to boycott the game and to follow it from the Martyrs’ Square in Zahle.   

This move came after the surfacing of information that businessman Wadih Al-Abssi, the sponsor of the Anibal team, bought 1000 passes, which was considered an attempt to keep supporters from Zahle out of the game.   

Contrary to information given by the Anibal Vice-president Michel Zarzour who asserted that the passes would be sold just before the game at the entrance of the stadium, special information from the Lebanese Basketball Association made available to LBCI revealed that 1,200 passes were sold two days ago and no passes were sold at the entrance of the stadium.   

The Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb had earlier accused the FPM of withholding the passes from the Zahle residents.   

300 Champville supporters attended the game, which was considered a violation of a decision made by the LBA which called for the presence of one unified group of spectators in the stadium.