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Lebanon narrowly defeated in Asia Cup Final


Lebanon narrowly defeated in Asia Cup Final

Lebanese basketball player Karim Raphael Ezzedine (left) facing Australian Mitchell McMarron during the match against Australia for the Basketball Asian Cup Final on July 24, 2022, in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Credit: Adek Berry/AFP)

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s national men’s basketball team on Sunday narrowly lost the final of the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup, scoring 73 points against defending champions Australia’s 75.

Here’s what we know:

    • The Lebanese team made a comeback in the fourth quarter of the match, coming from 14 points down to just two by the final buzzer. On Saturday, the Lebanese team beat Jordan by a single point after team captain Wael Arakji scored two points with only 30 seconds left on the clock.

    • Earlier Sunday, caretaker Youth and Sports Minister Georges Kallas called on Energy Minister Walid Fayad to provide electricity during the game hours to allow citizens to watch the match. In the face of an almost three-year-old economic collapse, Lebanon faces regular state power outages and private generator operators tend to ration the hours of their service provision.

    • The FIBA Asia Cup is a qualifying tournament for the 2023 World Cup. The last time the Lebanese team was a finalist was in 2007 when it lost to Iran.

    • Lebanon’s men’s basketball team is ranked ninth in Asia and 54th worldwide and was titled Arab champion in February. The team’s performance in the Asia Cup and its Arab championship will allow Lebanon to climb continental and international rankings.

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s national men’s basketball team on Sunday narrowly lost the final of the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup, scoring 73 points against defending champions Australia’s 75.Here’s what we know:    • The Lebanese team made a comeback in the fourth quarter of the match, coming from 14 points down to just two by the final buzzer. On Saturday, the Lebanese team beat Jordan by a...