Home News Daily World News Lebanon and Iran reach last four; Qatar bow out

Lebanon and Iran reach last four; Qatar bow out



Lebanon news, Lebanese radio station , world news, music, discover Lebanon, visit Beirut,  Radio sawt Beirut
Book Hotels to Lebanon and the middle east , Europe, America for a very cheap prices
Mobile contents, ring tones, games, wallpapers , backgrounds and more..

Written by News Editor

Sunday, 05 August 2007

TOKUSHIMA: Lebanon, the 2005 silver medallists, became the first team to secure a berth in the semi-finals when they defeated Taiwan 95-64 in the Asian men's basketball championship yesterday. Lebanon, also the runners-up in 2001, have now a 2-0 win-loss record for four points, leaving Taiwan with a 0-2 record. Meanwhile, Hamed Ehadadi's height came to Iran's advantage yet again this time in defence, as the West Asian side powered their way past Qatar 95-87 to take the second semifinal spot from Group I of the quarterfinal round. Iran take on Lebanon today, to decide who finishes on top of the group. Ehadadi's scored only five points, but collected nine rebounds — all in defence that effectively stopped any second shots for Qatar. And more importantly, he utilized his 213cm height to repeatedly block any inside shooting attempt. Qatar took the fight to the Iranian camp, but time and again, Ehadadi proved a difficult obstacle. As a result, Qatar managed to level scores only once during the course of the game — when they capped their longest scoring spree of seven points at 33-all. For Iran, Nikkah brothers — Aidin and Mohammad — kept the scoreboard. Aidin top-scored with 25 points and the younger Mohammad accounted for 14 points along with six rebounds, as Iran surged ahead 11-0 early and never looked back. "I think the boys translated their confidence into performance," said Iran coach Toroman Rajko. "And of course, Ehadadi was a great asset." "The defensive rebounds were indeed a matter of concern. And that's where Ehadadi made the difference today," the Serbia-born coach said. "It obviously hurts," said Qatar coach Edward Andrist. "But then that's what sport is all about." "We obviously did not achieve what we set out for. And I take full responsibility for the failure," the American said. In Group Two earlier in the day, Jordan overcame a 14-point deficit to beat Kazakhstan as the two teams stood with a 1-1 record. Two-time former champions South Korea were to play fellow former champions Japan later in the day. The top two teams from both groups will play in the knock-out semi-finals, vying for only one ticket to the Beijing Olympics next year. The two best finishers, other than Olympic hosts China and the winners, will be eligible for the final Olympic qualifying round in July next year. In the playoffs for ninth place, China, already out of medal contention for the first time since 1975, and the Philippines remained unbeaten with a 2-0 record. China overwhelmed Indonesia 102-47 and the Philippines whipped India 104-69. In other action, Syria outclassed Kuwait 109-69, while Hong Kong defeated the United Arab Emirates 87-64. Kuwait, Syria, Indonesia and Hong Kong finished with a 1-0 record ahead of winless India and the Emirates. Results: Group I: Lebanon 95 Taiwan 64; Iran 95 (Aidin Nekkah 25, Hamed Eslamieh 17, Javad Davari 16) bt Qatar 87 (Daoud Daoud 21). Quarterwise: 24-20, 44-41, 68-63. Group II: Jordan 82 Kazakhstan 73; South Korea 93 Japan 83. Group III (playoffs for 9th-16th): Philippines 104 India 69; Syria 109 Kuwait 69. Group IV (9th-16th): China 102 Indonesia 47; Hong Kong 87 UAE 64. (Agencies)

 

Lebanon news, Lebanese radio station , world news, music, discover Lebanon, visit Beirut,  Radio sawt Beirut , Lebanese music, president elections in Lebanon
get info about the Lebanese Political Parties by visiting http://www.sawtbeirut.com/lebanese-party

< Prev		Next >