Jordan clinch FIBA Asia Cup 2017 spot, Lebanon take down Iran in a thriller

AMMAN (WABA Championship 2017) - Action at the West Asia Basketball Association (WABA) Championship 2017 in Amman, Jordan continued to heat up in Day Three. Jordan booked their FIBA Asia Cup 2017 ticket following win over Palestine, Lebanon beat rivals Iran, while Iraq record their first win of the tournament.

In the opening game, Iraq finally broke into the win column after beating Syria, 66-53. The Iraqis held an 11-point lead at the half, and they successfully kept the Syrians at bay in the final two quarters to notch their first victory in three days.

Naturalized player Kevin Galloway led Iraq with 25 points on the strength of 4 three-pointers, while Mohammed Al-Khafaji and Dhulfiqar Al-Hchaimi each netted a dozen points. Big man Ali Hameed also impressed by grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking 5 shots. Syria, meanwhile, were paced by the 16 points and 10 rebounds of Omar Cheikh Ali and the 15 points of veteran Micheal Madanly.

The day's second encounter was heated and, as expected, went down the wire, but in the end, Lebanon found themselves triumphant over bitter rivals Iran, 65-62. It was a tight and hotly contested affair from the start, with the Cedars, despite enjoying their biggest lead of 13 points at one point in the final period, just unable to fully distance themselves from the Iranians.

It seemed the outcome was beyond doubt after Nadim Souaid gave Lebanon a 64-51 bulge with under 5 minutes left in the game, but that's when Iran made their move, scoring the next 11 points to trim the deficit to just 2 points, 64-62, with 6 seconds left. Ali Haidar grabbed a timely rebound of a big free throw miss from Mohammad Jamshidi, though, and he hit one free throw to ice the result.

The game was very physical and saw several players trade barbs and get into near altercations, most notably young stars Wael Arakji and Behnam Yakhchali, whose personal rivalry stems from as far back as their U18 days in 2012.

Fadi El Khatib scored 21 points on 8-of-16 field goal shooting to lead Lebanon to their third win in a row. Arakji also did well with 16 points, while Haidar recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds. On the other end, Jamshidi and Yakhchali led Team Melli with 15 and 11 points respectively. Iran's vaunted big men - Oshin Sahakian, Asghar Kardoust and Arsalan Kazemi - were limited to a combined total of only 11 points.

In Day Three's last game, Jordan had to scramble in the second half to record their third win in as many games, defeating Palestine, 90-75. Jordan had a bit of an anemic start here, trailing, 49-44, at the half-time break, but they righted the ship in the final two quarters to take over.

Mahmoud Abdeen continued to flash fine form for Al Nashama, scoring 30 points on the back of 10-of-15 field goal shooting, including hitting 8 triples from beyond the arc. His backcourt partner, Mousa Al-Awadi, hit 4 treys of his own to finish with 23 points, while Ahmad Al-Hamarsheh added 17 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

As for Palestine, Michael Ray Nunnally, Jr. unloaded 17 points, 12 rebounds and 2 steals, though that was not nearly enough to carry his squad to the win. Jamal Abu-Shamala paced their offense with 23 points, while Ibrahim Habash had 10.

With the win, Jordan have now secured a spot for this summer's FIBA Asia Cup which will take place in Beirut, Lebanon for 10-20 August.

Iran will try to bounce back against Iraq on Day Four, while Jordan finally get a big test and are sure to go their separate ways with Lebanon, whom they'll play tomorrow. Winless sides Syria and Palestine will also go at it, and that match will have big implications on which team's chances for qualifying to FIBA Asia Cup 2017 stay alive.

RESULTS:

Iraq beat Syria, 66-53

Lebanon beat Palestine, 99-75

Jordan beat Iraq, 66-62

FIBA