Sagesse Club - Basketball team نادي الحكمة - فريق كرة السلة |
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Leagues | Lebanese Basketball League (FLB League): Div.1 | ||
Founded | 1992 | ||
History |
Sagesse BC (1992-present) |
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Arena | Ghazir Stadium | ||
Capacity | 4000-5000 | ||
Location | Ashrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon | ||
Team colors | Green, White |
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President | Maroun Ghaleb | ||
Team manager | Fouad Abou Chacra | ||
Head coach | Fouad Abou Chacra | ||
Team captain | Sabah Khoury | ||
Ownership | Collège de la Sagesse of the Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut | ||
Championships |
8 Lebanese Championships 3 FIBA Asia Champions Cups 3 West Asian Championships 2 Arab Club Championships |
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Website | http://www.sagesseclub.com/ | ||
Uniforms | |||
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Hekmeh or Al-Hikma or Club Sagesse (Arabic: الحكمة; also known as Club Sportif La Sagesse) is a Lebanese sports club based in Beirut. The basketball team was established in 1992, as part of the historic Hekmeh club established in 1943 with mainly the football (soccer) team. The basketball team became far more popular than the initial football team thus making the basketball branch the most popular branch of the club, due to its phenomenal record breaking success since its formation in the early nineties in the newly reformed Lebanese league, the Arab and the FIBA Asian championships.
Al-Hikma in classical Arabic, El-Hekmeh in Lebanese dialect stands for "wisdom", thus also the French alternative name of the club, Sagesse (meaning wisdom in French).
The historical Hekmeh club was founded in Beirut in 1943 under the patronage of the late father Boulos Kik, supported by his excellency late Mgr. Jean Maroun, with affiliation to the Collège de la Sagesse of the Maronite Catholic Church a leading educational institution in Lebanon and the East since 1875 but despite the affiliation with the Sagesse College the club has its own independent administration. The basketball program was founded in 1992.
In 1992 the club was financed by media tycoon also dubbed as the Godfather of Lebanese basketball, president Antoine Choueiri, he wanted a team that will achieve unprecedented success and popularity in a bid to change Lebanese sports history forever and unite all Lebanese behind a successful team that will represent Lebanon and Lebanese basketball in every possible competition on a national and international level.
After the Choueiri takeover in 1992 Hekmeh/Sagesse included on its roster some of the most impactful player names including Lebanese national basketball team legends Elie Mechantaf and Fadi El Khatib ,notable foreigners that at the time were among the elite of foreign basketball players in Asia including ex-NBA players and FIBA world cup participants a high level of players that was never seen before in the Lebanese league and the neighbouring countries and under the management of the most decorated national basketball coach Ghassan Sarkis, a dominant dream team was born taking Lebanese Basketball to new heights, achieving the goals that were set by Choueiri such as the ones mentioned in the previous passage.