JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - Australia clicked from deep early and that spelled the difference as they handed Lebanon a 93-80 beating to stay perfect in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025, Friday night at the King Abdullah Sports City.
The Boomers raced to a 20-4 start before finishing the opening quarter with a commanding 31-14 lead, and that was big thanks to their solid outside shooting after knocking down a quintet of threes in that stretch.
They'd then add three more treys in the following period to eventually grow their lead to two decades' worth at 58-38 entering the intermission, and their foes could only try as they struggled to pose a major threat.
The Aussies have now gone 2-0 in Group A, and can finish as its no. 1 team - which merits an outright berth to the Quarter-Finals - if they could take care of business against Qatar (0-2) on Sunday at 11:00 local time.
"Really happy with the win. I thought we defended well at the start, and then struggled to control them after that. Credit to them, they just keep coming at you," offered head coach Adam Caporn.
"Lebanon kept trying things and they're difficult to deal with because they were willing to change things up. But on the other end, we did a great job moving the ball ... really happy with the outcome," he added.
Jaylin Galloway finished with 18 points, 10 of which he made in the first quarter as he nailed two of the team's triples during that stretch. The 22-year-old added 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals to his tally.
Reyne Smith provided 18 points as well with 5 rebounds and 3 assists, while Jack McVeigh added 11 points as the troika bannered an offense that saw all 12 players score at least 2 points in the wire-to-wire victory.
Put to naught by the loss, on the other hand, was the record night of Youssef Khayat, who reset his Asia Cup career-high with 22 points to lead the Lebanese. He also had 6 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
Ali Mansour tallied a 12-6-5 stat line while Karim Zeinoun and Ali Haidar chipped in 11 points apiece for a team that lost key guard Sergio El Darwich, who suffered nasal trauma mere seconds into the game.
It is a tough blow to an already banged-up team, who, aside from missing star guard Wael Arakji because of a shoulder issue, has been closely monitoring his backcourt partner Amir Saoud due to an injury as well.
But if ever there's one silver lining from the defeat, it's their strong fourth-quarter showing where they outscored the defending two-time champions, 20-9, thus making the margin more respectable.
Lebanon will next face Korea (1-1) on Sunday at 18:00 local time.
FIBA