ZOUK MIKAEL (Lebanon) - Lebanon has never beaten Korea in the World Cup Qualifiers. Until now.
Led by their next generation of stars-in-waiting, the Cedars finally got the bogey off their backs, besting Korea to open their Window 4 campaign on a winning note, much to the delight of their adoring home fans.
Lebanon's future is here
23-year-old forward Youssef Khayat - who has impressed in phases in the past - today took a big step in terms of consistency through all four quarters.
He eventually finished with 21 points, including two emphatic throwdowns.
He was joined off the bench by 2000-born small forward Omar Jamaleddine, who had a double double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.
With charismatic Cedars point guard Wael Arakji missing this window, it appeared that Korea would have the more eager first step. That proved to be the case as Korea took the lead within two minutes of tip-off and maintained it almost till the end of the third period, before Lebanon's buoyant takeover.
"We got to keep on pushing and go to the World Cup for Wael [Arakji]. I'm sure he'll be back. He's our leader."
Cedars' big advantage on the boards
After shooting at a high clip in the first half, Korea struggled after the break, while Lebanon won the paint battle hands down, outrebounding Korea 51-30.
"For today we didn't have enough physicality to compete. We knew that they will play physical [and] athletic. We can't win the game with minus-20 rebounds," Korea Head Coach Nikolajs Mazurs admitted in a blunt post-game assessment.
Meanwhile, Lebanon Head Coach Ahmad El Farran pointed to his team's 27 fast-break points and how he knew it would prove to be decisive.
"I told my players: If we control the rebounds and run on fast break, we will create a lot of problems for them."
Shutting down Hyunjung Lee
Not surprisingly, Lebanon's game plan involved making things as difficult as possible for Korea's star scoring forward Hyunjung Lee, who was contained to just 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
"We tried to target him on defense and try to play our best to not let him have open shots. We tried to pinpoint their best players, and that's what we did," Khayat said.
Previous Head-to-Head Results in the World Cup Asian Qualifiers
Edition | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|
2027 | 93-74 | Lebanon |
2019 | 84-72 | Korea |
2019 | 84-71 | Korea |
FIBA