ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Lebanon found their bearings after the break and never looked back en route to crushing Bahrain, 94-63, to sweep their assignments in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers' opening window, Monday night at the Stade Nouhad Nawfal.

The Cedars had already taken the lead behind a 12-0 run abridging the first and second quarters but it wasn't until the third canto when they opened the floodgates, submerging their counterparts to eventually take solo lead in Group F with a 2-0 record.

Game heroes: Wael Arakji spearheaded the home team with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 6 rebounds, and a steal, finishing the game as well with an efficiency of 28.

Hayk Gyokchyan delivered 16 points, spiked by two triples, alongside 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, and a block each. Ali Mansour made 13 points while Gerard Hadidian finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds as all but one scored at least 2 points in the lopsided victory.

Turning point: Only four points were separating Lebanon from Bahrain until a 9-0 run behind Hadidian and Amir Saoud pushed their lead to 57-44 with 3:08 left in the third.

The gap would never go down to single digits again, with Arakji and Co. continuing what the tandem started as they concluded the quarter with another strong run to build a 68-46 edge.

It would be all Cedars from then on as the opposition could no longer plot any comeback, with the former's lead swelling to as big as 38 points before cruising to the victory.

Stats don't lie: Lebanon were in full control of the boards, 52-36, in the win that also saw them dish 19 assists and force Bahrain to commit 17 turnovers, mainly behind their 10 steals.

They said: "It was a great game from our side. We always put a target to control the game. The defensive target today was 65, we got it. They scored only 63. It was a bit tense in the beginning. I spoke to the guys at halftime that everything was OK, we just needed to make our shots. The moment we start scoring our threes and free throws, it's gonna be an easy game. This is exactly what happened." - Jad El Hajj, Head Coach, Lebanon

"We started off a little bit rusty especially in the first quarter. We were missing open shots. But at halftime we knew that we weren't playing our best game, and yet we were up six. We just need to continue pushing, and be more aggressive. We gave up some offensive rebounds and easy layups in the first half. We stopped them, we started running, and making hustle plays. Just the teamwork, the way we played, we got together. That's what made us win the game at the end." - Hayk Gyokchyan, Lebanon

"It was a tough game for us. We played one of the toughest teams in Asia. I think as Coach said, the first 20 minutes was a little bit of a tight game, but the second half ... we didn't stick to the plan. At this level we cannot play up and down. But at the end of the day, we'll learn from it. Win or lose, we have to learn from it. We will be better in the future." - Maitham Isa, Bahrain

FIBA