18 September 2010
BEIRUT: Three wins in three games for Lebanon in the Arab Championships were secured with a well earned defeat of Iraq 89-63 on Friday. Unlike the comparative ease with which they won against Sudan and the United Arab Emirates, The Cedars were forced to break sweat against the Iraqis, who held the lead throughout the first quarter until a tip in on the buzzer from Fadi al-Khatib gave Lebanon the lead after 10 minutes of 23-22.
Iraq caught Lebanon off guard early on with aggressive direct attacking often penetrating the Lebanese defense with disconcerting ease. Khatib had been, by a significant margin, Lebanon’s best player against the UAE but instead of merely killing off opponents, ‘The Tiger’ was forced to bail out his teammates who had let Iraq accumulate too many easy points in the first quarter.
From there on in it was plain sailing as Khatib and Elie Rustom ran roughshod over a leaking Iraqi defense and collected 25 and 16 points respectively.
With every win the crowds grow, creating a carnival atmosphere with drums, chanting and piercing air horns that make the much maligned vuvuzelas of the South Africa World Cup sound harmonious. Some over-aggressive chanting and behavior caused riot police to enter the stands but in reality no danger was likely to occur.
The second quarter saw Lebanon establish a strong lead of six points until an Iraqi surge put the visitors ahead at 31-30 with only five minutes remaining of the half. A Khatib lay up, a huge three point shot from Elie Stephan and a hard fought basket from Elie Rustom gave Lebanon a seven point lead it would never relinquish.
Lebanon struggled for fluency and every basket was labored for rather than given like they were against the Sudanese, but through sheer persistence, particularly from the lively Rustom, the Cedars had earned a 10 point lead by half time.
Despite disjointed attacks, Lebanon earned more points by the half way stage than it had in its previous routs, perhaps complacency in defense early on had forced the players to be more assertive in attack to make up for the points hemorrhaging early on. It also helps having Khatib on the field as the talismanic forward scored 17 points alone in the first half.
In keeping with Lebanon’s recent form, the second half turned into more of an exhibition as Iraq’s confidence drained and Lebanon built up a comfortable momentum.
Rustom’s influence continued to grow as the guard pulled down rebounds meant for bigger players while his direct attacking style earned him 12 points by the three quarter stage.
Lebanon will play Saudi Arabia on Saturday with its passage through to the next round secured thanks to its three heavily one sided victories. – Additional reporting by Joe Soubaih
Copyright The Daily Star 2010.
