ZHUJI (China) - China huffed and puffed, but survived nonetheless against a spirited Lebanon, who pushed them to the absolute brink despite missing their star point guard Wael Arakji.
Inside the sprawling Xishi Basketball Center, bathed in a sea of red, China started off strong, with a distinct advantage from beyond the arc, before Lebanon found their shooting rhythm in the second half and made a real fist of it.
In the end, though, the East Asian perennial powerhouse did just enough to secure an 89-87 win and go 5-3 in their win-loss column, while pushing Lebanon to 6-2.
Team Dragon stay perfect over Cedars at home
The win continued China's historic dominance over Lebanon, now at 13-2. Significantly, Team Dragon have never conceded a game to Lebanon at home, with their only two losses coming in Indonesia (Asia Cup 2022) and in Beirut at the 2019 World Cup Qualifiers.
H2H Record at the World Cup Asian Qualifiers
Edition | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|
2027 | 89-82 | China |
2019 | 72-52 | China |
2019 | 92-88 | Lebanon |
Darwich sparks third quarter run
After going stone cold from deep in the first half - 0-9 to be exact, 30-year-old Cedars shooting guard Sergio El Darwich drained a triple with the game clock winding down.
The make would bring Lebanon within four, 46-42, heading into the the break.
Fairly harmless right?
Think again, as Darwich would keep things going at the start of the third, with a layup, followed by a block, and then getting to the foul line, before hitting another jumper.
It would appear to be just what the doctor prescribed, as Lebanon's shooting 'cold' would transform into a hot fever, as Omar Jamaleddine, Hayk Gyokchyan, Ali Mezher, Youssef Khayat and Karim Zeinoun, all converted their distant attempts.
Jamaleddine shines despite loss
Lebanon's super sub Omar Jamaleddine continued providing the offensive ammunication off the bench, putting up his career-best figures of 19 points and 12 rebounds, including a clutch trey with 20 seconds left, that brought Cedars within a single possession of China.
Amir Saoud then calmly proceeded to knock down all three of his free throws to tie the game at 87.
But what looked like sure-shot overtime would soon be thwarted by who else, but China's newest sensation, Yang Hansen.
Hansen arrives!
Portland Trailblazer and this generation's Yao Ming meets Nikola Jokic, the 216 cm / 7'1" Yang Hansen had his highest-scoring World Cup Qualifiers game, finally showing the leadership expected of him, especially in a nerve-wracking back-and-forth second half, with multiple lead changes.
Hansen put up 19 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists, with none bigger than his game-winning layup with 10 seconds left on the clock.
It wasn't all Hansen alone of course, as he received timely support from shooting guard Sanning Liao, who chipped in with 18 points of his own, besides 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.
I think everybody on the bench, including the players on the court, needed to do their job.
"It was a tough game. The opponents were a strong team. We needed to challenge them. Everybody did a great job today," Hansen said in the post-game press conference.
Great atmosphere
"It was a great atmosphere to play tonight in China, great venue, and the two teams I think, they gave a great show to the fans," Cedars Head Coach Ahmad El Farran, noted, while promising a hard time to China in November when they visit Lebanon for the return game.
"Coming here, we knew it was going to be a battle. Playing against China in China is always a very tough game historically for us. But we gave our best. It was a great atmosphere. It was fun playing here in this crowd...so many people. Thank you everyone, for coming and supporting," added forward Hayk Gyokchyan.
FIBA