Jordan beats Kazakhstan in FIBA Asia Championship

By JT - Sep 28,2015 - Last updated at Sep 29,2015

Zaid Abbas of Jordan is challenged by two Kazakh players during a basketball game between Jordan and Kazakhstan in the FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha, China, on Monday (Photo courtesy of FIBA.com)

AMMAN – Jordan defeated Kazakhstan 87-73 on Monday in the FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha, China.

The national basketball team will play West Asia Basketball Association (WABA) rivals Lebanon on Tuesday, a fixture described by FIBA as a do-or-die game as each team needs to win in order to qualify for the quarter-finals.

According to FIBA, Alex Legion had 23 points and five assists while Zaid Abbas finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four steals for the Jordanians.

Kazakhstan got another solid showing from Jerry Johnson but the point guard's game-high 26 points were not enough to prevent the side from enduring a fourth defeat in five FIBA Asia Championship games.

Its 0-3 record in Group F means the Kazakhs have no chance of advancing to the next stage of the competition, even if it was to beat Korea on Tuesday, FIBA reported on its website.

Kazakhstan fought Jordan hard but began to lose the initiative late in the first half. Trailing 38-35 after a Johnson three-pointer, Vitaliy Strebkov's team fell further behind after jump shots from Sam Daghlas and Ali Jamal Zaghab, and two free-throws from Daghlas. The Kazakhs got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

The FIBA described Abbas as the game hero, saying he did a little bit of everything on both ends of the floor to help Jordan win with the team 14 points better than Kazakhstan when he was on the court.

On Sunday, Jordan defeated Qatar, 84-73.

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