... Lekhwiya and Esperance Sportive de Tunis took to the court to decide fifth. After a close 60 minutes it was ES Tunis that were victorious, with a one-goal difference at the final whistle that meant the African side equalled the ranking recorded on their previous Super Globe campaign in 2014.

Duhail Sports Hall, Thursday 8 September

5/6 Placement match: Lekhwiya (QAT) vs Esperance Sportive de Tunis (TUN) 27:28 (16:15)

The match was expected to be the close contest it was, but it did not begin that way, as Lekhwiya started much stronger to create a 6:2 lead by the 10th minute when ES Tunis coach Denis Lathoud called his first time-out. After that his team came into the game, with a 5:0 run levelling the match by the 15-minute mark when Nidhal Amri scored his second goal (7:7). 

After that the ES Tunis maintained control for some time, with right wing Mohamed Ali Bhar running a successful fast break that opened a two-goal advantage for the African side at 10:8 in the 19th, before he struck again to take them in front by three at 12:9 in the 23rd. 

But Lekhwiya did not allow that lead to last long, and with goals from Ahmed Elahmar, Hamad Madadi and Wajdi Sinen they brought the game back to level at 12:12 by the 25-minute mark. The score remained locked as the clock ticked toward half-time, before Lekhwiya claimed a narrow advantage with an impressive save from goalkeeper Yousuf Al Abdulla converted into a goal by left wing Madadi just before the whistle sounded. 

Five minutes into the second period the score remained level at 14:14, and as the last 15 minutes of the game began still there was nothing to separate the teams at 22:22. When Lathoud used his final time-out in the 24th the score showed a one-goal advantage for the Qatari team (26:25), and after the teams returned to the court both goalkeepers made saves that kept the score where it was before Tarak Jallouz added a tricky lob goal over Al Abdulla to level at 26:26. 

Following Jallouz’s goal neither side could find the back of the net for almost four minutes until ES Tunis added two in a row that pulled them in front to 28:26 before Lekhwiya coach Thabet Mahfoudh called the last time-out of the game. Two ES Tunis suspensions within seconds of each other, for Oussama Boughanmi and Hamdi Aissa, enabled Lekhwiya to close the gap to one with less than 15 seconds remaining, but it was too late for the Asian side to equalise and the team from Tunisia held on to secure fifth place.