Australia are still undefeated in the FIBA Asia Cup and they’re two victories away for winning the whole thing once more. However, they’ll face their old friends New Zealand tomorrow, while Jordan and Lebanon have defied the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 odds and both are set to square off in the other semi-finals bracket.
Even before the 2017 merger between the Asia and Pacific regions, the Boomers and the Tall Blacks have been fierce rivals since time immemorial as both of them have lorded over Oceania.
On the other hand, neighbouring countries Jordan and Lebanon have prior experience in making deep Asia Cup runs, but neither have played in a Final for more than a decade.
SBOTOP basketball fans are going to be treated with more FIBA Asia Cup 2022 highlights, so let’s examine how these nations got into the final four and how do they stack up against one another.
Australia and New Zealand slated in Asia Cup semis rematch
The showdown between Australia and New Zealand is a rematch of their first Asia Cup in 2017 where the Boomers eventually won and went on to win the title after beating the Tall Blacks at this exact stage.
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medalists and defending champs have been dominant all throughout this tournament since they’ve not won a game by less than 14 points. En route to the semi-finals, the Boomers breezed past everyone in Group A and they eliminated Japan most recently.
Although they got meaningful contributions from everyone across the board, the one player that stands out is Thon Maker, who will surely be on top of New Zealand’s scouting report. The former Milwaukee Bucks center has norms of 17.8 points, and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 50-per cent from the field.
Other players to look out for from Australia are Mitch McCarron and Tyrese Proctor. These two may have a 12-year age gap, but it’s hard to tell since both are playing like savvy veterans.
Proctor, the youngest player from the Boomers at 18 years old, has impressed in this tournament with averages of 10.0 points and 2.0 assists per game. McCarron, on the other hand, is averaging 7.0 points and 5.3 assists per game.
Save for their loss against Lebanon, New Zealand were also solid in this competition as all of their victories were by 10 points or more. They most recently defeated South Korea in the quarter-finals to reach this far.
Flynn Cameron should be on Australia’s radar since he’s been spectacular for New Zealand with averages of 14.4 points and 4.6 assists per game.
Sam Timmins is another threat by the Tall Blacks and he’s averaging 8.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game on 55-per cent shooting from the field.
Jordan and Lebanon eager to make it back to the Final
Prior to the semi-finals, Jordan and Lebanon are even in their overall head-to-heads with four wins apiece. So tomorrow’s matchup not only breaks the deadlock, but it also guarantees the winner a podium finish in this tournament.
Jordan have swept through the Asia Cup Qualifiers, but they struggled in the World Cup Qualifiers. In this competition, however, the Falcons only lost once thus far – which was against Australia.
They almost lost their final group stage game vs. the Taiwanese when they found themselves down by two points in the final seconds, but Freddy Ibrahim’s half-court heave at the buzzer broke the hearts of Chinese Taipei.
In the quarter-finals, Jordan defeated Iran, 91-76, as naturalized import Dar Tucker exploded for 29 points while notching six rebounds and four assists.
Ibrahim and Tucker may get all the shine for the Falcons, but another player to look out for if you’re Lebanon is Ahmad Al Dwairi. The 29-year-old center is a walking double-double with 14.6 points and 13.2 rebounds per game.
Lebanon, meanwhile, have been on a roll as they’ve yet to lose a single Asia Cup game this year. But prior to this tournament, they lost to Jordan in the World Cup Qualifiers so this is going to be their revenge game.
Their path to the semi-finals wasn’t easy since they went through a gauntlet, but they passed their tests with flying colors with big victories over New Zealand in the group stage and China in the quarter-finals.
Wael Arakji has been Lebanon’s alpha dog since he leads the whole competition in scoring with 25.7 points per game on 51-per cent shooting from the field, and he’s on a mission to guide them to their first Asia Cup trophy ever.
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