The Lebanese team will return today from Egypt to Lebanon, especially after yesterday's incidents, the Lebanese Team has simply decide to withdraw from the competition cause with the way the competition is with it's not worth to get any player injured, Lebanon is participating this year in the 14th World Championship for Men for the first time in the history of the country.
The team will stay in Lebanon till the 31st of August, and then join a training camp in the USA before the competition starts.
24 July 2002 - When basketball turns bad.
The referees did a very poor job in today's match with Lebanon playing against Tunis, the game was stopped several times, and the referees didn't control any part of the game leading to 20 seconds before then end for each player to take the game to his own will, which really pushed the Tunisian into unsportsmanship, trying to play the game like a street fight, with giving the finger to the players to the Lebanese players, hitting balls in their faces, a very bad game which really doesn't show the quality of the Arab Countries Championship. The game was stopped with 20 seconds on the buzzers due to the Tunisians shooting chairs at the Lebanese players.
Despite all the incidents the game had a decent quality, which makes it very sad to end like that, the Tunisian were showing outstanding offensive rebounds, but the Lebanese side knew where the gaps were in the Tunisian Team and finished the first half 46-41.
The third quarter was also on the Lebanese side, the disqualification of Walid Doumiati (179-G-68, agent: Draskicevic Elmira) for pushing a Tunisian player after a very hard foul ended the third quarter, Lebanon was leading 69-61.
In the fourth quarter the Tunisian closed the gap, and with 56 seconds left on the clock, the Lebanese players lead by 3 points, a basket and a foul, on the last offensive, the Tunisian players didn't score, but did a foul on Moussa Moussa (PF,195cm, Lebanese), and before Moussa could even shoot the free throws, on of the Tunisian players took the ball and threw it on purpose in Richard Halleet's face which pushes Richard Halleet (F, 195cm, Lebanese) to punch the player, at that point the Tunisian players started shooting chairs and empty bottles at the Lebanese players and the Egyptian Police who was trying to calm down things, the game was stopped with Lebanon winning 86-83, while the Tunisian players left the court waving their fingers instead of their sports qualities.

by Arab-Basket