JEDDAH: The second day of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup saw Lebanon sneak past Qatar 84-80 in their Group A opening fixture at King Abdullah Sports City on Wednesday night.
The clash, which attracted a strong Lebanese attendance, marked the start of a group widely regarded as the toughest in the competition, and which also features South Korea and defending champions Australia.
Earlier, Australia — winners of the 2017 and 2022 events — had opened their 2025 FIBA Asia Cup campaign with a dominant 97-61 win over Korea. Jack McVeigh led the charge with a team-high of 20 points.
Australia’s head coach Adam Caporn said: “Being well-prepared for that and having a good performance (in the) first game, and a win, is something we definitely wanted, and something that we value and we’re going to talk about.”
In other matches, Japan recovered from a shaky first half to claim a commanding 99-68 victory over Syria in their Group B opener on Wednesday at King Abdullah Sports City. Meanwhile, Iran used a dominant first half and a strong fourth-quarter finish to take down Guam 77-52.
The Saudi national basketball team will play against its Jordanian counterpart on Thursday night in their second match at the FIBA Asian Cup.
The Green Falcons are looking for their first victory in the championship after losing to China in the opening match 93-88, while Jordan had succeeded in defeating India 91-84 in their first match.
A Saudi victory will enhance the hosts’ chances of progressing to the second round, while a win for the Jordanian team ensures qualification to the knockout stages directly.
On Thursday, three matches will be held at King Abdullah Sports City, as China meets India, Iraq faces China Taipei, and the Philippines play New Zealand.
