The Indian basketball team ended their FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers campaign winless after losing its final Group D match 98-72 against Lebanon at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
India, 76th in the men’s basketball rankings, had also lost to world No. 33 Lebanon in their reverse fixture in the group.
The loss meant that India finished bottom of Group D with six losses from as many games. They were already out of contention to qualify for the FIBA World Cup 2027 before their final two matches in the group.
Lebanon finished on top of the group, while Qatar were second.
On Sunday, Sergio El Darwich scored a game-high 19 points for Lebanon, while Arvind Muthu Krishnan was India’s best leading scorer with 17 points.
Lebanon took the game to the hosts from the outset with Sergio El Darwich leading from the front with nine points to give the visitors a 28-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.
India fought back in the second quarter, outscoring Lebanon by 23-20 with Arvind Muthu Krishnan bagging 10 points to reduce the deficit to 48-38 at the half-time break.
However, Lebanon ended any hope of an Indian comeback by upping the ante by comfortably outsourcing the hosts in the final two quarters of the contest.
A total of 80 teams from four FIBA regions – Africa, Asia and Oceania, Europe, as well as the Americas – are competing across the six qualifying windows.
India were one of 16 teams that competed in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers. They were clubbed in Group D along with Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
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