Lebanon Storms Past Canada, Greece Avoids Upset

Filed under: FIBA, FIBA World Championship

Spain's defeat at the hands of undermanned France was certainly the biggest surprise of the opening day of the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.



But it was far from the only eye-opener.



Behind a brilliant performance from veteran guard Fadi El Khatib, Lebanon pushed past Canada 81-71 in Group D action. El Khatib, who injured his back earlier this summer and wasn't a sure thing to appear at the World Championship, dropped 31 points on Canada, 10 of those coming in a fourth quarter in which the Lebanese outscored Canada 24-13.



El Khatib, who was a Clipper for 10 days in 2003 but never saw NBA game action, is a legendary player in Lebanese basketball, along with former Heat center Rony Seikaly. Lebanon has traditionally been successful in Asian regional play, but has been overmatched at the top stages of international play. But El Khatib has done this before -- he averaged 17 points a game in the 2006 World Championship.

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/08/28/lebanon-storms-past-canada-greece-avoids-upset/