The Lebanese men's basketball team achieved a crushing victory over their Bahraini counterparts with a score of (94-63) in the second match of Group Six during the "first window" of the Asian qualifiers for the Asian Cup. The game took place on Monday evening at the "Nihad Nohfal Complex" in Dhour Choueir, attended by a large audience nearing five thousand spectators, including political, sports, economic, municipal figures, and media personnel.
The Cedars (ranked 28th in the world) successfully hit three targets with one stone: winning against the Bahraini team (ranked 69th in the world), marking their second consecutive win in the qualifiers, and topping Group Six with two wins from two matches. They are the only team in this group to achieve two victories, while Syria won against the UAE (78-63) on Monday, and Bahrain managed to win once, leaving the UAE with two defeats. This positions Lebanon at the top of their group, awaiting the "second window" scheduled for November and the third and final window taking place in February next year. Lebanon concludes the "first window" without a loss.
Although the Lebanese team did not deliver the expected performance in the first and second quarters, their performance significantly improved in the third and fourth quarters, dominating the game's atmosphere amidst the continuous enthusiastic support from the Lebanese crowd. Despite losing naturalized player Norville Beal due to injury in the second quarter, Lebanon continued the game without their injured center and demonstrated their superiority against a not-easy opponent.
In reviewing the first-quarter dynamics, national coach Jad Haj started the game with the lineup of Norville Beal, Haik Kiyokjian, Sergio Darwish, Ali Mezher, and Wael Arakji. Lebanon initially led (4-1) before the score equalized (4-4), followed by a Bahraini lead (11-6). The Cedars quickly reduced the gap to (12-13) and then took the lead (18-13) to finish the first quarter with a Lebanese score of (21-13).
In the second quarter, Lebanon continued to lead (28-20), but the Bahraini team narrowed the gap (26-28) following Beal's injury. Lebanon then extended their lead again to (32-26), ending the second quarter closely with a score of (39-33) in favor of Lebanon.
At the start of the third quarter, the score was still close (46-38), then (48-44), before the Cedars surged in both defense and offense led by Arakji's performance (57-44), bringing the third quarter to an end with a three-pointer from Ali Mezher at (68-46).
In the final quarter, Lebanon maintained control with their fiery momentum and collective focus, moving to (72-46) and then (91-53) before concluding the game at (94-63). The final quarter also saw the disqualification of Sergio Darwish due to a foul.
The top scorer for the Lebanese team was Wael Arakji with 20 points, followed by Haik Kiyokjian (16 points), Ali Mansour (13 points), and Gerard Hidayan (12 points). Amir Saoud and Sergio Darwish contributed 9 points each, while Maik Khoury and Ali Mezher added 5 points each. Norville Beal and Mustafa Asaf scored 2 points each, and Karim Ratil added 1 point.
The top scorer for Bahrain was Mustafa Rasheed with 18 points.
### Important Upcoming Events
Lebanon is looking forward to a significant challenge represented by the Olympic qualifiers, which will take place in Valencia, Spain, in July. They have been drawn against Spain and Angola. Previously, eight teams out of twelve have qualified for the basketball competition within the upcoming Summer Olympics, set to be held in Paris from July 25 to August 11. Four more teams will qualify through the qualifiers to join the twelve required teams. The teams that have secured their spots in the Olympics include Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Serbia, South Sudan, the United States, and France (as the host nation).
### Remaining Schedule
The remaining matches for Lebanon in the Asian qualifiers for the Asian Cup are as follows:
- **Second Window:**
- November 22, 2024 - Lebanon hosts the UAE
- November 25, 2024 - Lebanon hosts Syria
- **Third Window:**
- February 21, 2025 - Bahrain hosts Lebanon
- February 24, 2025 - UAE hosts Lebanon.
