BAGHDAD (Iraq) - Iraq kept their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 aspirations alive by showing Palestine the door, 71-59, at the Al Shaeb Hall on Friday night.
Aching to end their two-game losing skid in the Qualifiers, the Lions of Mesopotamia roared in the fourth quarter and pounced on the opposition with an overwhelming 20-0 assault to turn a seven-point deficit to a 67-54 lead with 2:07 left.
The Palestinians only stopped the drought behind Brian Halums' split from the foul line with 1:50 to go but could no longer put together any comeback attempt, and they could only witness helplessly their hopes of staying in contention fade.
With the victory, the Iraqis improved to 2-3 to clinch the no. 3 spot in Group D, which merits a spot in the Qualifying Tournament for Third-Place Teams.
Ali Ismael top-scored for the home team with 21 points as he helped build the aforementioned run that swung momentum in their favor for good.
Coming through as well to make that rally possible was star guard DeMario Mayfield, who flirted with a triple-double as he tallied 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists while also adding 3 steals - all that against only 3 turnovers - to his name.
There was also, of course, lead big man Ihab Al-Zuhairi, who notched a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds alongside 2 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.
Halums, meanwhile, had a game-high 22 points to lead Palestine, who dropped to 0-5 and will try to end their campaign strongly against Saudi Arabia on February 24.
Iraq will definitely look to finish their Asia Cup Qualifiers campaign with another victory when they host Jordan in the same venue also on the 24th.
Falcons continue to soar
The Falcons, though, will head to Baghdad aiming to win, too, and sweep the group as they stayed unscathed after downing KSA, 78-68, at the Prince Hamza Hall.
Buoyed by their ever-supportive home crowd, the squad got hot early and jumped to a 31-16 lead, setting up the wire-to-wire victory on the way to extending their unbeaten streak to five - and to keep their hold of the pool's pole position firmly.
Amin Abu Hawwas top-scored for Jordan with 22 points on an efficient 54.5-percent shooting from the floor, highlighted by a troika of trifectas.
Freddy Ibrahim flexed his playmaking ability once more and ended up with a double-double of 15 points and 10 assists, netting an efficiency of 24.
Ahmad Al Dwairi made 14 points and 11 rebounds with 2 steals and 2 blocks while Dar Tucker added 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Jordanians continued to roll under new head coach Piti Hurtado, who's been at the helm since the last window.
Marzouq Almuwallad, on the other hand, finished with 22 points to lead the Asia Cup 2025 hosts, who fell to 3-2 following the defeat.
FIBA