Even though both New Zealand and Lebanon are qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 next year, it didn’t stop their Window 5 clash from being a dogfight.

In the end, it was Lebanon who rode a strong second half to beat New Zealand for a second straight time this year, 77-65.

The loss for New Zealand is also their first in the Asian Qualifiers. It also served as a bit of revenge as New Zealand had beaten Lebanon in Beirut back at the World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers, virtually knocking the Cedars out of World Cup qualification contention.

Both teams struggled on the offensive end in the early stages of the games, especially in the second quarter where New Zealand scored 15 points to Lebanon’s 13.

In the second half, it was an entirely different story. Lebanon came out of the halftime break with a point to prove and went on a 14-0 run, holding one of the best offensive teams in the Asian Qualifiers scoreless for nearly 4 full minutes.

New Zealand were never really blown out of the game, but they never gained enough traction in the to mount a run that would reclaim the lead.

It was a big game for Ali Haidar who stepped up in the absence of Wael Arakji this window. The big man led all scorers with 21 points. Five other players scored at least 8 points for the Cedars as well.

The Tall Blacks had a big game from Asia Cup hero Tohi Smith Milner who had 17 points and 7 rebounds in the losing effort.

Turning point: Right out of the locker room, Lebanon took control of the game with 14 unanswered points to take the lead for good. The emphatic part of that run was a 5-point sequence by Hayk Gyokchyan that lit the fire in the team on the way to the win. Gyokchyan nearly finished with a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Game hero: Gyokchyan ignited the run. Haidar lifted most of the scoring load. But it was Ali Mansour that showed class through the entire game in this crucial victory for the cedars.

The 24-year-old guard had 9 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals which was a combination of a little bit of everything which was enough to lift his team through.

Stats don’t lie: Lebanon actually shot worse and lost the rebounding battle to New Zealand. However, they were able to covert a large number of possessions (25 turnovers for the Tall Blacks) and just disrupt New Zealand’s offensive flow whichever way possible. The Tall Blacks, usually known for their ball movement, ended up with only 9 assists in this contest.