ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Lebanon avenged its loss to Jordan a few months ago by beating them convincingly in Window 3 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers.

The Cedars used a scorching 31-7 second quarter to blow this game open and cruise to an 89-70 win at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex in front of a passionate home crowd.

Jordan looked to be in good shape, leading by as many as 8 points in the first quarter, but the hosts caught fire big time in the second period. Sergio El Darwich, Amir Saoud, and especially Ali Haidar seemed to score at will in the pivotal second frame that saw Lebanon turn a 6-point first quarter deficit into a 46-28 lead at halftime.

The Falcons could not mount any serious comeback from then on as Lebanon successfully notched their fourth win of the Asian Qualifiers.

The backcourt combination of Amir Saoud and Wael Arakji were magical in this match. Saoud had his best game of the qualifiers yet, scoring 24 points, including hitting 3 triples. Arakji, meanwhile, was his usual productive self, recording 23 points along with 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

On the other end, Dar Tucker paced Jordan with 22 points, but he shot just 6-of-15 from the field. Big man Ahmad Al Dwairi did well for the Falcons with 16 points and 9 boards, but it was not nearly enough to overhaul Lebanon's advantage.

This outcome pushes Lebanon to the next round of the Asian Qualifiers with a 4-win, 1-loss record, while Jordan and Saudi Arabia are tied with identical 3-win, 2-loss slates in Group C.

Jordan will try to get their fourth win at Indonesia's expense in Jakarta on 4 July, while Lebanon host Saudi Arabia on the same date.

FIBA