India survive furious rally for first ever win over Lebanon

DOHA (Qatar) - India look to conjure more U16 Asian Championship magic, survive Lebanon's rally 76-69.

It is the first win ever for India over Lebanon at the U16 Asian Championship level after suffering two previous losses in 2018 and 2011.

India built up a big lead early on, led by Mohit Jogchand who scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half alone.

The victory was nearly not meant to be India saw their 26-point lead slip away as Lebanon willed their way back to within as close as two points late in the fourth quarter.

As the pressure piled on, Lokesh Kumar Sharma took matters into his own hands, getting free in the open court for a layup that made it a two-possession game with a 4-point game. He'd draw the foul from Lebanon a possession later and calmly sink the two clutch free-throws that would prove to be the dagger.

Big man Kailash Bishnoi was a key part of India's win, playing in all 40 minutes to record a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. He also had 3 assists 2 steals and a block.

For Lebanon, it was a shame that Jason El Dekss performance of 22 points on 10-15 shooting and 15 rebounds did not come with a win. Ramy Hachem also had 10 steals in this game which stands as the all-time record in U16 Asian Championship history since the statistic started to officially be archived in 2013.

Standout Player: Sharma stood out for his late-game heroics for India, but his overall production was also why they had a sizable lead in the first place. The lead guard had 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 steals while making all 5 of his free-throw attempts - including the two most important ones.

Turning Point: Of course, the personal 4-0 run by Sharma in the last seconds of the game were key to India's win. However, they would not have had as big of a cushion to hold on to if not for the early 12-0 run in the second quarter.

Stats don't lie: Lebanon missed all of their 12 three-point attempts in the first half and ended up making only 2 in total at the game's end. Even though they were able to force India into a whopping 37 turnovers, it's tough to shrug off that rough of a shooting night.

FIBA