Lebanon edges Jordan, forges Gilas quarterfinals duel

CHANGSHA – Lebanon, minus do-it-all star Fadi El-Khatib, beat out Jordan on Tuesday, 80-76, in a do-or-die match in their group to set up a quarterfinals faceoff with Gilas Pilipinas in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship.

With a torrid outside shooting, the Lebanese built a huge 19-point spread at 51-32, and fended off Jordan’s endgame fightback to complete the Final Eight cast in this regional Olympic qualifier.

It will be Philippines versus Lebanon and Iran against South Korea in the quarterfinals set on Thursday. The tourney takes another break today.

The other quarters pairings could be China against India and Qatar versus Japan, depending on the result of the China-Qatar match that was still being played at press time.

Gunners Jean Abd el Nour, Amir Saoud, Mohamad Haidar, Rodrigue Akl and Jay Youngblood fired away 10 three-pointers in crucial moments as the Lebanese made the FIBA Asia quarters in their return from FIBA suspension.

Amir finished with 20 points with Haidar, Youngblood and Wael Arakji adding at least 11 each as they eliminated the Jordanians and former Gilas coach Rajko Toroman.