FIBA Asia Cup day three: Fadi El Khatib goes supersonic but can’t stop New Zealand

VETERAN Lebanon forward Fadi El Khatib rolled back the years to produce arguably the standout individual performance of the FIBA Asia Cup so far – but the hosts were agonisingly edged out by New Zealand.

After Philippines’ heroics against China on day two, the tournament is very much alive, and hosts Lebanon played their part but went down 86-82 against the Tall Blacks in Group C.

El Khatib, who is 37, dropped 33 points, claimed 11 rebounds and had eight assists as his team shot 53.4 percent from the field.


In a game that ebbed and flowed, El Khatib caused New Zealand all kinds of problems in the paint, but the Oceanic newcomers withstood everything Lebanon threw at them.

In a performance of character that marked them out as potential champions, Shea Ili scored 22 points while Reuben Te Rangi contributed 15 points and eight boards.

In the other Group C game, South Korea delivering one of the great scoring performances of the FIBA Asia Cup – or its previous incarnation, the FIBA Asia Championship – by demolishing Kazakhstan 116-55.

Korea, beaten 72-66 by Lebanon in their opener, hit a massive 63.8 percent of their shots from the field as they led 50-26 at half-time and 82-37 after three quarters.

In a rounded team performance, Lee Jung-hyun top-scored with 19 points, while Park Chan-hee produced 14 assists and seven points as Mikhail Yevstigneyev’s 19 points and seven rebounds underlined the lack of productivity from the rest of the Kazakh team.