Lebanon qualified for the semi-finals of the 24th Arab basketball championship, which is currently taking place in the United Arab Emirates, by beating Jordan (64-52) in the quarter-finals of the Al Nasr Club Hall in Dubai.
The Lebanese audience was the most impressive in the game as Lebanese ex-pats in the UAE gathered to support their national team, and many couldn’t enter the stadium that was at full capacity.
The Lebanese team started the game in a slow and “shaky” manner before it took the lead, and succeeded in ending the first half with 31-22 points.
The Jordanian team improved in the third half, especially in the defensive performance, but Lebanon maintained its superiority with 49 points against 38.
Both teams performed poorly early in the fourth half before the Lebanese Hayk Gyokchyan broke it with a successful triple basket.
The Lebanese team’s performance notably improved when its player Wael Arakji entered the game and took full control. He finished it to his team’s advantage, achieving the 15th victory for Lebanon’s team that has not recorded a loss since February 10th, 2020.
Lebanon will now face Somalia in the semi-finals on Tuesday in a replay of the first-round match, in which the “Cedar men” finished with a big score of 115 versus 77 points.
