Portland Trailblazers center Deandre Ayton was in a dominant mood on Saturday to help the Bahamas defeat Lebanon 89-72 and book their spot in the final of the Olympic Basketball Qualifying Tournament in Valencia, Spain.
The Bahamians jumped out to a 31-16 lead at the end of the first quarter before a tight second quarter meant the Caribbean nation enjoyed a 50-36 lead at halftime.
Lebanon had a much better defensive showing in the third quarter, holding the Bahamas to only 13 points while scoring 18 of their own to cut the deficit to 63-54 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Bahamas were back to their dominating best in the final stanza, however, winning 26-18 for a final score of 89-72.
Ayton, in his 32 minutes of action, went 11-15 from the field on his way to a top score of 24 points to go along with 15 rebounds.
Warriors guard Buddy Hield contributed 19 points while VJ Edgecombe and Eric Gordon had 13 points, each.
Sergio El Darwich had 22 points, five rebounds and three assists for Lebanon.
Their opponent in Sunday’s final will be the winner of the semi-final between Spain and Finland.
At the time of publishing, Spain were ahead 38-30 at halftime.
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