BASKETBALL – Australia clicked from deep early and that spelled the difference as they handed Lebanon a 93-80 beating to stay perfect in the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah last night.
The Boomers raced to a 20-4 start before finishing the opening quarter with a commanding 31-14 lead, and that was big thanks to their solid outside shooting after knocking down a quintet of threes in that stretch.
They’d then add three more treys in the following period to eventually grow their lead to two decades’ worth at 58-38 entering the intermission, and their foes could only try as they struggled to pose a major threat.
The Aussies have now gone 2-0 in Group A, and can finish as its number one team – which merits an outright berth to the quarter-finals – if they could take care of business against Qatar (0-2) tomorrow.
“Really happy with the win. I thought we defended well at the start, and then struggled to control them after that. Credit to them, they just keep coming at you,” said head coach Adam Caporn.
“Lebanon kept trying things and they’re difficult to deal with because they were willing to change things up. But on the other end, we did a great job moving the ball ... really happy with the outcome,” he added.
Jaylin Galloway finished with 18 points, 10 of which he made in the first quarter as he nailed two of the team’s triples during that stretch. The 22-year-old added 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals to his tally.
Reyne Smith provided 18 points as well with 5 rebounds and 3 assists, while Jack McVeigh added 11 points as the troika bannered an offense that saw all 12 players score at least 2 points in the wire-to-wire victory.
Put to naught by the loss, on the other hand, was the record night of Youssef Khayat, who reset his Asia Cup career-high with 22 points to lead the Lebanese. He also had 6 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
Ali Mansour tallied a 12-6-5 stat line while Karim Zeinoun and Ali Haidar chipped in 11 points apiece for a team that lost key guard Sergio El Darwich, who suffered nasal trauma mere seconds into the game.
It is a tough blow to an already banged-up team, who, aside from missing star guard Wael Arakji because of a shoulder issue, has been closely monitoring his backcourt partner Amir Saoud due to an injury as well.
But if ever there’s one silver lining from the defeat, it’s their strong fourth-quarter showing where they outscored the defending two-time champions, 20-9, thus making the margin more respectable.
Meanwhile, Lee Hyunjung provided the stabilising presence South Korea badly needed to withstand Qatar 97-83, and net their first win in the tournament.
The star winger scored eight of their last 11 points, including a pair of three-point play completions to power the strong windup after their foes cut what was once a 21-point lead to just five, 85-80, with 3:05 left.
He then went on to cap off his clutch performance by going perfect from the free throw line with 29.9 seconds left, settling the final count as they got themselves a victory after bowing to Australia the last time out.
Lee finished with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, highlighted by a brace of triples, alongside 7 rebounds and 4 assists plus a steal and a block in 28 minutes to net an efficiency of 27.
Now, South Korea will shift their attention to Lebanon, whom they will face tomorrow hoping, of course, to sustain their winning ways to bolster their chances of reaching the quarter-finals.
Brandon Goodwin, meanwhile, had 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists to lead Qatar, which fell to their second loss in as many outings. Abdulrahman Saad and Zineeddine Bedri backed him up with 15 and 14, respectively.
The loss has pushed the Fiba Basketball World Cup 2027 hosts to a must-win situation against the defending two-time champions Australia tomorrow in arguably their biggest test yet.
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