DOHA (Qatar): Hosts Qatar restarted their FIBA Asia Cup 2021 qualifiers with a fighting 79-72 win over Syria at the Al Gharafa Indoor Hall on Saturday night.
It was Qatar’s first win in the Qualifiers and a wining debut for new coach coach Miodrag Perisi.
Qatar had lost both their Group E matches before Saturday’s match, going down to Saudi Arabia 57-68 and Olympic-bound Iran 52-95 and were with just 2 points. But the first win now has changed the equation in the group.
The game was close from start to finish, though Syria were able to build a lead up to as much as 10 points in the third quarter.
The Qasioun Eagles under new head coach Joe Salerno were pushing the pace to build their lead, relying on the offense of George Kell III, who was making his national team debut. Kell ended up with 35 points to go with 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
It was not enough to hold back a determined Qatar team that came charging back with a 27-14 fourth quarter run. Qatar coach Miodrag Perisic sprung a full-court press that forced 19 turnovers out of Syria which were converted into 25 points for Qatar.
A three-pointer in the corner by Erfan Ali Saeed with 11 second left in the game to give Qatar a 78-72 lead was the shot that sealed the deal.
24-year-old star guard Abdulrahman Saad returned to his usual form of 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists after a subpar first window. He’ll continue to be a player to watch from Qatar in the remaining games of the Qualifiers.
The win was much celebrated by the team as it ends Qatar winless runs that dates back to July 2, 2018 when Qatar beat Iraq at this same venue during the World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers.
It doesn’t get any easier for Syria as they will face Iran in the first game of Group on November 30. That will be followed by a rematch between Qatar and Saudi Arabia with both teams high in confidence from their performances on Saturday.
In the first match of the day of the same group, Iran remained undefeated after a hard-earned victory against Saudi Arabia, 71-64.
Last month, Doha was confirmed as one of the three cities which will host the qualifiers during the November window, along with Manama (Bahrain) and Amman (Jordan).
Apart from the Group E fixtures, Doha will also host games in Group B which include China, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Malaysia.
Following the November window, qualifiers will be heading for a three-month pause before returning on February 18 next year.
