JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - Both Lebanon and Saudi Arabia have already qualified to the Second Round, but with the results carrying forward, this Window 3 matchup brought its full intensity to bear.
Flawless Free-throw Shooting
Saudi Arabia brought their best effort in front of a rowdy crowd and led by as much as 7 points, but it proved not able to rattle the ice-veined Cedars.
Lebanon kept their cool throughout the game and recorded a perfect 18-18 from the charity stripe. This was only the second time in the history of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers that a team finished a game with 100 percent free throw shooting.
The last time was on November 18, 2022 when, ironically, Saudi Arabia went 8-8 from the free-throw line against the Philippines.
100 percent free-throw shooting in a single World Cup Asian Qualifiers game
This turned out to be a key factor, as Saudi Arabia left 7 points at the free-throw line (17-24) in a 6-point loss.
Saudi Arabia Rising
Saudi Arabia can hold their chins up, however.
The last time Saudi Arabia beat Lebanon in any major FIBA competition (WCQ, Asia Cup) was in 1999 after 4 straight losses - all of which were by more than 20 points. Even earlier, in the previous window of the ongoing Qualifiers, Lebanon had prevailed 94-64.
Head-to-Head: Saudi Arabia vs Lebanon
Result | Winner | Competition | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
KSA 82-88 LBN | LBN | World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers | July 2, 2026 |
LBN 94-64 LBN | LBN | World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers | February 27, 2026 |
LBN 90-60 KSA | LBN | World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers | July 5, 2022 |
KSA 68-81 LBN | LBN | World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers | February 27, 2022 |
KSA 63-97 LBN | LBN | Asia Cup 2005 | September 13, 2005 |
LBN 69-92 KSA | KSA | Asia Cup 1999 | August 31, 1999 |
And after beating Qatar 86-80 last week, Saudi Arabia came in very confident of their chances. Add to that, they were now hosting Lebanon at home, and it was a pitched battle from tip-off.
Lebanon led by 3 points at the end of the first, before Saudi Arabia won the middle periods by slender margins of 4 and 3.
The final 10 minutes were a toss-up, with momentum shifts galore, before Lebanon finally prevailed 88-82.
They might have taken in the loss, but Saudi Arabia showed that they are not to be counted out.
Rising Cedars
With 1:57 mins left in the fourt quarter, Lebanon's 20-year-old small forward Jihad Elkhatib, who rechecked into the game moments prior, hit a three that broke the 79-79 tie and put Lebanon ahead for good.
Elkhatib has been impressive in his first few games as a Lebanese national team player. But no one is really surprised are they?
Speaking of Rising Stars... did you check out Sergio El Darwich's dunk in the clutch after Elkhatib's three?
Because you really should.
Key Players
Amir Saoud (LBN). Lebanon are missing their two mainstays in Wael Arakji and Dedric Lawson in this window. In their absence, Saoud stepped up - scoring his team's first 11 points. In the first half, he had 18 points without a miss, including 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Eventually, the 187 cm / 6'1" Al Riyadi shooting guard ended with 25 points at a +23 efficiency.
Mohammed Alsuwailem (KSA). The 208 cm / 6'9" center had a double-double at halftime before finishing with 20 points and 16 rebounds, at a high +35 efficiency. But Alsuwailem wasn't alone, far from it. He was joined by three others with double-digit scoring, led by power forward Musab Tariq M Kadi's 19 points.
They Said
"I believe two teams played high level of basketball. At the end of the day, the small details we did at the end, saved the game. It was not an easy win, especially when we are missing two big stars [Arakji and Dawson]. But today I cannot not mention how our captain Amir Saoud stepped up and hold the team on his shoulders (sic). He had an amazing game, he was the leader on court." - Lebanon Head Coach Ahmad El Farran
"Saudi national team are improving a lot. It wasn’t like this before. Usually we don’t really feel their presence as much as we did today, especially at their home court. So big credits to them. Onto the next one. Our eyes are on qualifying for the FIBA World Cup. That’s non-negotiable for us. We are going there and we are going to represent Lebanon." - Cedars captain Amir Saoud
"I hope we can play at this level and more. We will see what we can do in the last game in this group." - KSA Head Coach Ali Alsanhani
"Very tough game, very important game for both teams, especially coming into the game, both teams had only 1 loss and these games matter especially for the Second Round." - Saudi Arabia guard Khalid Abdul Jabbar
"We fought hard. I felt like we had a very good chance to win the game. We made a lot of mistakes, missed a lot of free throws at crucial times in the last three minutes of the game and we made some defensive mistakes. So we definitely have to correct that. But hard luck. Lebanon played a great today and now we just have to focus and wait for the next game against Qatar." - KSA's Abdul Jabbar
Watch the post-game press conference here:
FIBA