Slovenia defeated Lebanon (74-58) on Saturday in the opening match of the U19 Basketball World Championship, hosted by Hungary until July 2. The winning team had to wait until the final minutes to secure their victory, as the Lebanese team reduced the gap to four points in the fourth quarter (57-61) and nearly upset the European team. The quarter scores were as follows: (22-13)(44-32)(57-41)(74-58).
While the Slovenian team (fourth in the European Championship) had a notable lead in the first three quarters, the Lebanese team managed to establish their rhythm in the final quarter, which saw player Karim Ratil exit due to five fouls. Despite the clear Lebanese dominance, Slovenian players leveraged their experience to finish the game with a 16-point advantage. Brian Mansour was the top scorer for his team with twenty points, followed by Karim Ratil and Karl Zamata with eleven points each.
Slovenia's win against Lebanon is part of Group B, which also includes the United States, who crushed Madagascar (136-69). Lebanon will play their second match against Madagascar at 8:30 PM Beirut time on Sunday, June 25, and their third match against the United States at 4 PM on Tuesday, June 27.
