Lebanon score upset victory in basketball's Asia Cup as they beat China in quarter-finals
Lebanon's national basketball team scored an upset victory on Wednesday when they beat powerhouse China in the quarter-finals of the FIBA Asia Cup.
The Chinese team, who have won the Asia Cup sixteen times, were very much the favourites to advance to the semi-finals of the tournament.
However, The Cedars took the bull by the horns, raced to an early lead, and were just about able to fight off a strong comeback from their opponents to win the match 72-69.
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"We’re writing history for the country… we did it as a team as a unit and this is the most important thing," said Wael Arakji, Lebanon's star player in Wednesday's match.
Power forward Hayk Gyokchyan dedicated the win to "the people of Lebanon".
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On social media, Lebanese praised the team for providing a ray of hope during an otherwise difficult time for the country.
Lebanon will face Jordan in the semi-finals on Saturday, after the latter beat a traditionally strong Iran team 91-76.