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Egypt, Syria win at Arab Games

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Posted: Monday August 16, 1999 03:18 PM

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- Defending champion Egypt routed Lebanon 68-30 while Syria thrashed Jordan 70-52 in preliminary round matches Monday of women's basketball at the Arab Games.

Egypt's victory made up for its 76-74 opening match loss against Tunisia on Saturday.

Egypt took the lead from the start and Lebanon had to wait 5 1/2 minutes before putting a point on the scoreboard. But soon, the Egyptian women were racing away with a 20-6 lead, ending the first half 27-10.

In an earlier match, Rola Zarka scored 20 points in Syria's victory. Syria led 31-24 in the first half and overwhelmed its opponents throughout the game, at times extending its lead by 20 points.

With vastly superior ball control, the Syrian women took most of their rebounds and scored from outside the three-point line as well as from under the board.

About 1,000 Jordanian fans in the 7,000-seat stadium failed to inspire the home team.

"The Jordanian team is improving but we dealt with the game in a much better way," Syria's coach, Samer Imam, said.

"Our team is a good team and we hope to have a successful finish to the tournament," he said.

Syria got a walkover from Algeria in its inaugural match on Saturday. Jordan, in its opening clash, had defeated Lebanon 35-32.

On Tuesday, Syria will play Egypt while Jordan will clash with Algeria.

 

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