Lebanon has officially qualified for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup 2021 after beating Iraq on Sunday.
The match, in Manama, Bahrain, started off in the Iraqi team’s favor as its players built up a lead of 10 points in the second quarter that saw the Lebanese side play at a slow pace.
However, in the second half, the Cedars tipped the scales, taking the lead with 15 unanswered points and maintaining their momentum until the end of the match, which they won with a 9-point lead.
Wael Arakji, who has been the highest scorer in his team in the Qualifiers, once again stole the show with his performance, scoring 25 points in total in the match.
The final results of the Window 2 match were 78-69, and they automatically secured Lebanon, which is on a 4-win winning streak in this competition, a place in the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup.
With that, Lebanon became one of the first two teams (the second is Bahrain, which won against India) to qualify directly for the competition that takes place next year.
Team Lebanon recently scored a decisive victory against India in the opening of Window 2 of the Qualifiers, with a final score of 115-60. The Cedars had also won, 116-73, against Bahrain, and 87-68 against Iraq in the first window back in February.
The team currently leads its group (Group D) with a 100% winning percentage in the Qualifiers, followed by Bahrain’s 75%.