Phew! They did it. The Lebanese women’s team secured their place in Division A of the Asian Basketball Zone at the last minute, following their victory over Taiwan on Friday.
The Lebanese women’s basketball team narrowly secured their place in Division A of the Asian Zone in their final match of the Women’s Asian Basketball Cup, held in Australia at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre, following a (finally) well negotiated final match of the competition.
Victory at last
After three consecutive defeats in as many games, the Lebanese team finally stepped up to face Taiwan in this must-win match.
In sports, some victories are more emotional than others, and in this must-win game, Georges el-Dabbak Geagea’s players led the way from the second quarter onwards, eventually winning by the extremely narrow score of 75-73 points against the Taiwanese team. The least we can say is that Lebanon had their backs against the wall in this final match, following setbacks against China, South Korea, and New Zealand. Led by their captain Rebecca Akl on Friday (27 points), the Lebanese managed to snatch the victory despite the chaotic start of the game (Quarter 1: 21-27, Quarter 2: 48-48, Quarter 3: 68-61, Quarter 4: 75-73). Then, anguish gave way to relief. A victory that saves the Lebanese players and, at the same time, dooms their opponents of the day.
It should be noted that the rules of the Women’s Asian Cup Division A provide for the relegation to Division B of the team occupying the eighth and last place of the tournament. By finishing in seventh place, the Lebanese women managed to preserve their place in Division A (which they had just joined) after a twelve-year drought of stagnation at the lower level. Let’s hope they make an effort to get off to a better start next time around, if only to keep their fans’ nerves in check…
