Two Balamand tries in the final two minutes capped a thriller in Bhamdoun, with AUB snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Player-coach Mo Habbous's try, on the final play of the match and with Balamand trailing 28-26, sparked jubilant scenes as the northerners capped a remarkable comeback to remain alive in the race for the final. When the emotions subside – for Balamand the joy of a dramatic victory, for AUB the despair from a match they should have won – the Beirut side, despite blowing an opportunity to put one foot in the final, is still in the strongest position, with a huge advantage in the for-and-against column. The big benefactors on Sunday were Club Libanais who now know that a victory against Balamand next week will put them into the final against LAU, while the northerners must win by 50-points to book their place. AUB advances if Balamand wins by 50 or less.

Mathematics aside, today's match as an individual spectacle was arguably the best of the season – even before Habbous late, late heroics. The lead changed hands four times as both sides fought to the bitter end. Habbous opened the scoring on 17 minutes before Anthony Ghissen struck back for AUB, with Wael Barakat's conversion giving the Wolves a 6-4 lead. Balamand edged the possession in the first period, outscoring AUB four-tries-to-two, but Wael Tawil's wayward kicking enabled the Beirut outfit to stay in touch. Both sides fielded long range threats, with Habbous, playing for the first time this season, given the job of marking centre Wael Harb, who persecuted Balamand last week for four tries. It was Habbous himself who engineered the final try of the half. Latching onto Wael Barakat's sliced clearance kick he raced down field before linking up with Haydamous, who had too much pace for the cover.

The second period saw the Wolves exert more control over the game, and when Karim Mourabet crashed over the scores were level at 18 apiece. The visitors took the lead courtesy of some inexcusable play from AUB. After Mourabet had pulled off the tackle of the match on Omar Darwish when the lock was galloping towards the try line and looked certain to score, AUB recovered his speculative offload only to run into touch, handing possession straight back to Balamand. Tawil made amends for his shaky kicking, scoring to put his side up 22-18. AUB then struck back through Mourabet again, and then took the lead when Harb beat Balamand fullback Riad Khoury to Mourabet's chip kick, speeding away to score under the posts for a 28-22 lead with seven minutes remaining.

A series of dropped balls, two from the otherwise impressive prop Adel Kanzo, gave Balamand the sniff of a chance, which Haydamous took, sliding in for a try at the corner with less than two minutes to go. Darwish missed the kick, leaving Balamand trailing by two, but that didn't matter with Habbous waiting in the wings, ready to seize the moment.