The Lebanese team stopped with their external success but also with their decision-making an Angola that showed fatigue from the match against Spain and that, despite returning after the break to eleven points ahead of the Asians, was unable to finish the job in the fourth quarter and ended up losing 70-74.
The Asian team, with former NBA player Omari Spellman as reference, will face the Bahamas of Eric Gordon, Buddy Hield and DeAndre Ayton this Saturday in the semi-finals of the Valencia pre-Olympic tournament after surprising Angola in a match where the Africans They came out without defensive toughness on Wednesday and without a clear direction, and just as they were about to complete the comeback they found themselves with points from guard Karim Zeinoun.
The team of Spanish Pep Clarós, who gave Spain a scare in the first half on Wednesday, limited itself to trying its luck from beyond the line of three, but found that the Lebanese team was right in that aspect, with plugged Omari Spellman from the start.
With his hands and the help of the guard Sergio El Darwich, Lebanon started the match stronger (8-17, m.7) against an opponent that showed that the physical effort against Spain caused of damage. Angola did not look for inside balls and preferred the three-point shot, sometimes without much conviction, instead of looking for the advantage in the post after a few seconds (13-19).
Without success outside and inconsistency inside, Angola suffered in the second quarter against the young forward Youssef Khayat, who became the perfect squire of Spellman to continue increasing the lead (24-35). Lebanon chose better and thus went to the locker room, going four of nine from the perimeter, compared to Angola’s poor four of 21.
But the return to the court of center Jilson Bango, recently signed by Casademont Zaragoza, rattled Angola and with seven points in just a few minutes the African team reacted with a 13-2 run that tied the match twenty-five minutes later (37 -37, m.25).
They were the best moments for Angola, who with Bango and Fernando on the court defended better and, above all, moved better in attack to propose with more meaning, even if they could not get away from Lebanon . Angola tried everything, taking advantage of the low post, although Lebanon, always with the omnipresent Spellman – who finished with 22 points – remained on guard (45-44).
With only ten minutes left and everything to be decided, the Africans fell and Karim Zeinoun ‘dressed’ as a hero with two recoveries that ended in a layup and a three-pointer at the possession horn that put them ahead by ten -one (56-67). , m.35) among Asians.
Silvio De Sousa’s inner power brought the Angolans closer again (62-67, m.38), but his poor attacking decisions left the African double reaction unrewarded, first in the third quarter and later in the last.
Data sheets
Angola-Lebanon, 70-74
70 – Angola (13+11+21+25): Dundao (7), Miguel (3), Francisco (-), Fernando (12), Bango (11) -starting five- Neto (-), Gonçalves (13) , Fernandes (2), Gakou (8), De Sousa (10), Macachi (-), Pereira (4).
74 – Lebanon (19+16+9+30): Mezher (-), El Darwich (14), Khayat (9), Spellman (22), Haidar (9) -starting five-, Saoud (-), Zeinoun ( 15), Khalil (1), Mansour (-), Ezzedine (-), Gyokchyan (2), Hadidian (2).
Referees: Martins Korzlovskis (LAT), Juan Fernández (ARG), Boris Krejic (SLO). They removed Mansour (m.37) and Haidar (m.39).
Incidents: the third and final match of group A of the Valencia pre-Olympic, comprising Spain, Lebanon and Angola, played at the Fonteta pavilion in front of 805 spectators.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Jason Root, a professional writer working with Today Times Live, the premier news website. I specialize in sports writing, covering the biggest stories in the world of athletics. With an eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, I provide engaging and informative articles that capture the key elements of any event or issue. My work has been featured on numerous respected websites and publications around the world.
