The Lebanon male basketball team (under 16 years) finished in fourth place at the Asia Championship, which qualifies for the top four spots in the World Championship, after losing to New Zealand 62-89 in the third and fourth place match, held on Sunday evening at Al Gharafa Club in Doha, Qatar. Lebanon has already qualified for the Under-17 World Championship to be held in Malaga, Spain, from July 2 to 9, by reaching the semifinals of the Asia Championship.
The New Zealand team dominated the match. The first quarter ended 28-10, and the second quarter was 51-23 in favor of New Zealand. Lebanon reduced the gap in the third quarter to 47-68, scoring 24 points compared to 17 points for the New Zealand team, with the match finishing in favor of New Zealand at 89-62.
The top scorers for the Lebanese team were Jean Paul Al-Shami and Nikolai Chouri with 12 points each, and Ryan Hashem with 11 points. The Lebanese team delegation is scheduled to arrive at 6:30 PM on Monday, June 20. The Lebanese Basketball Federation will open the VIP lounge at Rafic Hariri International Airport to receive them. The Federation has invited media outlets wishing to cover the delegation's arrival to be present in the VIP lounge half an hour prior for organizational procedures.
