The Iraqi team defeated their Palestinian counterparts by a margin of 4 points, ending the game with a score of 71-67. The quarters ended with scores of 14-13, 31-29, and 49-47. With this victory, Iraq concluded their journey in the Beirut Cup organized under the supervision of the Lebanese Basketball Federation and by Global Active Sports, securing 5 points from two wins and one loss, while the Palestinian team finished with 4 points from one win and two losses.
The first quarter showed a close start with Palestine having the upper hand until the final seconds when Demario Mayfield scored two consecutive three-pointers, giving Iraq a lead of 14-13 at the end. This was Iraq's first lead under Serbian coach Milan Serbic. The second quarter mirrored the first until its midpoint, where Palestine led 23-18, but Iraq responded and leveled the score at 23-23, prompting Palestinian coach Luanis Diamantakos to call a timeout, but it failed to stop the impressive performance of naturalized player Demario Mayfield, who scored 5 three-pointers, leading Iraq to a half-time score of 31-29.
The game remained close in the third quarter with both teams adding 20 points, bringing the score to 49-47 in favor of Iraq, before they managed to secure the thrilling victory by 71-67. Mayfield recorded 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, while Hossam Abdullah contributed 23 points. For Palestine, Jamal Miyali scored 18 points with 7 rebounds, and naturalized player Calvin Godfrey added 15 points with 13 rebounds.
After the game, Hossam Abdullah of Iraq stated, "We succeeded in achieving the win, and the performance we showed reflects an improvement in the players' levels, with the hope that this tournament will be a positive indicator for our participation in the Asia Cup." Meanwhile, Tamer Habash of Palestine commented, "It was a very good and balanced game, and it was an opportunity to prepare for the Asia qualifiers, noting that there are players who will join our team later, and we hope to deliver better performances."
