MANAMA (Bahrain) - In the Bahrain bubble, Lebanon were always having a blast. It seemed as if no other team celebrated and enjoyed their big plays harder than the Cedars throughout those two games.

Of course, it’s easy to have fun when a team wins as Lebanon did in both of their FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers games. But it also seemed as if there was a bit more to it.

“ "We’re going to go hard and enjoy basketball and win."

 "We missed the game so much and I think it portrayed on the court, the hunger we have," said Wael Arakji after Lebanon’s win against India. "Everybody stepped up after the long stoppage. I was really happy to see all the teams happy, it brought happiness to me."

Whether it was a result of the happiness from returning to the court or just because Arakji is that good, Lebanon’s star guard emerged as one of the best players from the recent Asia Cup Qualifiers bubble. Arakji’s display of eagerness, hunger, and determination was clear to see and  it spread quickly to the other players in the team as well.

"Usually it is [just] a basketball game," said coach Joe Moujaes. "But for us, [this] basketball game means a lot especially for since we’re Lebanese. We’re so hungry to play any game of basketball. I have to remind you that the last national team game was in the first window back in February. Then we stopped and we didn’t have basketball now for several reasons, but as Wael said, we’re so hungry to play any basketball game. That’s why the players were hyped up to play the game."

"We played our basketball. Our basketball was fun, entertaining, and we tried to entertain our fans back in Lebanon."

The fans were certainly entertained as Lebanon defeated both India and Iraq in the bubble. They were able to double-down on their celebration when the results of the final gameday clinched Asia Cup 2021 Qualification for their beloved team. It will be the third straight Asia Cup appearance for the Cedars and their 9^th in the last 10 editions of the competition.

Despite having already secured the previous direct qualification ticket, Lebanon has no plans of taking their foot off the gas pedal.

"…In the window or in the next games, we’ll go out with a very strong team and we’ll have full respect for [the opposing teams]. We’re going to go hard and enjoy basketball and win," said Arakji.

This will also benefit the national team program in the long term, as their younger stars will be relieved of some pressure.

"Our aim is to transition the team from the old basketball of Lebanon to the new generation and way of how we play basketball," said coach Moujaes. "Hopefully we can include more young talents to join in the February 2021 window 3. This way we can play those young players with less pressure. We can integrate them in the program and we can increase the pool of players."

In the third and final window of the Asia Cup Qualifiers, Lebanon will face Bahrain and India. The games in Group D will be hosted in Manama, Bahrain in a situated bubble format. The game against Bahrain could very well decide the top team of the group, while the game against India is never a walk in the park.

Nonetheless, fans can count on the stars of the Lebanon national team to bring their A-game and, more importantly, put on an entertaining show.

FIBA