The Lebanese national team continues its brilliance with a great victory over the Emirates in the Asian Cup qualifiers
The Lebanese basketball national team opened the “second window” competitions of the Asian Cup qualifiers with a major victory over the UAE national team, with a score of 99-77, in the match that was held on Friday evening at the Shabab Al-Ahli Club Stadium (Al Mamzar Hall) in Dubai.
Lebanon is competing in the sixth group, which includes Syria, the Emirates, and Bahrain, where it succeeded in achieving its third consecutive victory in the qualifiers, continuing to lead the group alone with 6 points without any loss.
This victory over the UAE team (ranked 113th globally and 25th in Asia) came in front of a large audience, the majority of whom were members of the Lebanese community who passionately supported their homeland team. This victory, which coincides with Lebanon’s 81st Independence Day, was considered a moral gift to the Lebanese people who are going through difficult economic and social conditions.
The distinguished performance of the Lebanese team (ranked 28th globally and 5th in Asia) reflects its superiority at the technical level, which enhances its hopes of qualifying and continuing its honorable journey in the tournament hosted by Saudi Arabia next year.
The Lebanese national team deserved to win, led by Serbian coach Miodrag Perisic and his assistants, Lebanese coach Ralph Akl and Serbian coach Marko Filipovic, as they controlled the atmosphere of the match from the beginning thanks to team play and the brilliance of the Homeland of the Cedar players in attack and defense.
After the first quarter ended in favor of Lebanon (26-20), the Lebanese march towards the Emirati basket continued amidst a noticeable weakness among the Emirati players, until the second quarter ended in Lebanon (48-35).
In the third quarter, Lebanon took complete control and finished it (78-54) after successful shots from various distances.
In the fourth and final quarter, Lebanon continued its pressure, and the match ended with a wide victory for Lebanon (99-77).
Noting that the technical staff of the Lebanese national team included the 12 players during the match.
The following is the Lebanese national team lineup with the number of points: Ali Mezher (4 points), Amir Saud (11 points), Jad Khalil (5 points), Karim Zenoun (2 points), Sergio Darwish (15 points), Ali Mansour (6 points) , Haik Kuyukjian (2 points), Wael Arakji (16 points), Karim Ezzedine (7 points), Ali Haidar (12 points), Omri Spielman (19 points) and Gerard Hadidian.
Lebanon will meet its Syrian counterpart in the second match of the “second window” at four o’clock in the afternoon next Monday (November 25) Beirut time, also in Dubai.
If Lebanon wins, it will guarantee its early qualification to the Asian Cup finals before playing the “third window” matches next February.
In a historical overview, the Lebanese national team climbed to the podium four times in the Asian Nations Championship, finishing in runner-up position in 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2022, and participated in the Asian Championship eight times, while the UAE national team participated 7 times in the Asian Cup and never reached the podium.
