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The Lebanese players applauded the audience as a token of appreciation for their continuous support after what seemed like a difficult game.
The Lebanese national basketball team renewed its victory over its Iranian counterpart with a score of 81-77. It was the second friendly match between the two teams in the last week of July and took place on Thursday afternoon at the Nouhad Nawfal Complex in Zouk Mikael in the presence of about two thousand spectators.
The Cedars team had previously defeated the Iranian team (73-66) in the first friendly match that was held on the evening of the 26th of July at the same stadium.
The two matches come within the framework of the teams’ preparations for the World Cup, which will be held between August 25 and September 10.
The second match was stimulating, as the Lebanese national team turned its 15-point deficit into a victory that came in the fatal minutes of the match. Therefore, this win was hardly earned, given that the Iranians played better in this second game.
At the start of the match, the visiting team took a 9-0 lead. The Lebanese national team managed to finish the first quarter trailing by one point (19-20). In the second quarter, the points converged, with the Iranians having an advantage in terms of scoring 3-pointers, while the second quarter ended with an Iranian advantage (39-36).
In the third quarter, the guests pressed amid a Lebanese attempt to comeback. As the gap reached 15 points for the Iranians, they succeeded in ending this quarter with a difference of six points in their favor (59-53). In the fourth and final quarter, Lebanese players Amir Saoud and Hayk Gyokchyan teared down the Iranian defense with three 3-pointers as they slowly reduced the difference. At a time when the Iranian national team players lost their focus facing the Lebanese run in form, the Cedars’ fans were showing great enthusiasm and encouragement. The match ended with a narrow Lebanese win (81-77). Lebanon’s number nine, Sergio Darwish, ended the match as the best scorer with 24 points. Thus, the Lebanese national team played and returned from afar to achieve two moral and friendly victories over Iran within 24 hours. After the match, the Lebanese players gave the fans a long applause as a token of appreciation for their continuous support throughout the match, even when the Cedars team was far behind on the scoreboard.
