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Lebanon's captain Wael Arakji (centre) during the qualifier against India in Bangalore
Photo:
MANJUNATH KIRAN / AFP
The Lebanese national basketball team has qualified for a world championship for the fourth time.
On Monday, the team won 95-63 (49-29) in Bangalore, making it their first World Cup appearance since 2010.
It's the next success in a strong series for the Lebanese.
Last week there was a narrow win over the Philippines in World Cup qualifiers, and in July Lebanon finished second at the Asian Championships.
In the final, the team narrowly lost (73:75) to the strongly favored Australians, who are ranked third by the world association Fiba.
Lebanon is ranked 54th.
“It's great for the country's image because we're in a miserable situation here in Lebanon.
There's a little light at the end of the tunnel," former Lebanon coach Joe Mouajes told Reuters.
Lebanon is in a severe financial crisis.
According to a UN report, 80 percent of the people live below the poverty line, and in many places there is a lack of basic goods such as water, electricity or medicine.
The country is riddled with corruption and mismanagement, and the World Bank describes the crisis as "premeditated".
Two years ago, half the port of Beirut went under in a gigantic explosion of sloppily stored ammonium nitrate that destroyed thousands of homes and killed more than 200 people.
At that time, the huge concrete structure of Beirut's grain silo shielded the western part of the city from the devastating pressure wave. This ruin also collapsed on the anniversary in August of this year.
The explosion is still not clear.
"Better if he shuts up"
After beating China in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup, Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati congratulated the basketball team, but was met with hostility from star player Wael Arakji.
The captain wrote on Facebook that the team does not need Mikati's congratulations.
'We're trying to clean up the shit he and his fellow politicians got us into.
So it would be better if he kept his mouth shut.”
Mikati, the richest man in Lebanon according to the US business magazine Forbes, once again congratulated the team and said he would continue to do so despite the criticism.
“People in Lebanon are fighting for their lives.
People die every day," Arakji told the US broadcaster CNN: "I had to send a message to the Prime Minister and all politicians: There are a lot of things you should take care of instead of congratulating us."
Despite all the difficulties, Arakji wanted to concentrate on sporting success.
The World Basketball Championship begins next August and will be hosted by Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.
ngo/mrk/Reuters