BANGKOK (Thailand) - Some losses really do linger for a while and it is exactly the kind of feeling Lara Al Nakib would want to get rid of in the ongoing FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2026-Division B competitions.
"This time, it's a comeback for us," the Lebanon guard offered.
In case she's familiar, the 17-year-old was part of the junior Cedars team that competed in the 2024 contest in Shenzhen, China, in which they went all the way to the Final for a chance to get promoted to Division A.
It was a solid campaign for the WABA representatives, as they recovered from an opening loss to the Philippines by putting together a 3-game winning streak, including a 64-49 rout of Iran in the Semi-Finals.
It's for us to prove ourselves that we can win.
Of course, they became a favorite following the turnaround that saw them maul their foes by an average of 41.0 points during that stretch, highlighted by a massive 102-21 crushing of Maldives to start the run.
It was just too unfortunate that the Lebanese couldn't get it done.
The crew found themselves crossing paths with Gilas anew and familiarity favored the latter more, as their counterparts from SEABA cruised to the 95-64 victory and completed a 4-game sweep of the tourney.
Lebanon could only watch in disappointment as the Philippines lived out their dream of securing a ticket to the top division - they will be competing in Div. A in this year's edition - while they settled for a runner-up finish.
Years later and those bitter memories still remain fresh in the mind of Al Nakib. But a shot at redemption lies ahead in the freshly opened meet and she would not want to waste this opportunity whatsoever either.
"It's for us to prove ourselves that we can win," said the 17-year-old.
They've been proving themselves nicely thus far in this year's games. They improved to 2-0 on Tuesday following an 84-52 conquest of Samoa, and are currently sharing the lead in Group B with Kazakhstan.
And Al Nakib herself has been playing a key role in this solid start, showing her willingness to embrace a bigger role after taking a backseat to players such as Reem El Ghali and Maygen Naaassan back in 2024.
In fact, she even delivered in the clutch to pull off an escape act versus the Cook Islands, coming through with crucial free throws inside the final 25.2 seconds to save her side after nearly blowing a 17-point lead.
"It was good. Anything for my team, honestly. I just wanna win," said the Al Riyadi youngster, who's currently averaging 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 4.5 assists in 28.3 minutes of action.
Two games in and with a chance to book an outright trip to the Semi-Finals should they take care of business against the Kazakhs on Wednesday, Al Nakib chooses to stay as grounded as she can be.
Because their one true goal is yet to be met. "Mentally, we also have to be ready," she said.
FIBA