3 minute read
Defending champions Australia have been warned to expect a fight from underdogs Lebanon in the men's Asia Cup basketball tournament final in Indonesia.
Australia have been warned to expect plenty of fight from underdogs Lebanon in Sunday's FIBA Asia Cup men's basketball final in Jakarta.
The Boomers clinched a spot in the decider with a 85-76 win in Saturday's semi-final against old regional rivals, New Zealand
Lebanon were trailing by nine points in the second quarter of their semi against Jordan, who had their centre Mohammad Hussein ejected from the game.
The Cedars then hit 10 straight points to hit the front, but then found themselves trailing late in the game before squeezing out the 86-85 win.
Defending champions Australia won the last tournament in 2017, while Lebanon have reached the final on three occasions, losing each time.
Both teams have a 5-0 record in Jakarta, but at No.54, Lebanon are a whopping 51 places below No.3 Australia in the world rankings
Australia head the Asia rankings, eight places above Lebanon, but the Boomers are without all their current NBA players.
Former Milwaukee, Detroit and Cleveland NBA big man Thon Maker has been the Boomers most impressive player, averaging 17.8 points and nine rebounds a game.
His front-court colleagues Sam Froling and Keanu Pinder are averaging 11.6 and 10.8 points per game respectively and 18-year-old guard Tyrese Proctor has 10.6.
'We are not here just to be on the podium, to take second or third - no, no!" Lebanon coach Jad El Hajj said.
"Giving up is not an option. We will fight for the title."
Speaking before watching the second semi-final, acting Boomers coach Mike Kelly admitted he hadn't seen much of the Cedars through the tournament.
"Lebanon, I've only seen snippets of, so I'll go back to the hotel after watching this game and go get ready," Kelly said.
"But they are very talented and have had some big wins.
Lebanon's most consistent offensive threat is captain and point guard Wael Arakji, who has averaged a competition-leading 25.5 points per game and has not been held below 20 in his four appearances.
American-born power forward Jonathan Arledge averages 15 points and 7.4 boards per game.
