Sri Lanka’s junior cagers produced a valiant comeback after their disastrous 113-54 defeat in the group stage match against eventual champions India, as the hosts just fell short by a mere seven points 62-55 at the final of the FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship SABA (South Asian) qualifier.
India went into a storming 34-14 lead at the opening quarter, but the Lankans came back firing to go into halftime 36-34; an absolutely out-of-the-world defensive act made Indians bamboozled as they couldn't score a single point in the 2nd quarter. However the lads from the neighbouring nation took control of things in the latter stages as both teams exchanged honours, but at full time it was 55-62 in favour of the visitors.
Sri Lankan skipper Darren Bernard (No.7) hailing from St. Joseph’s College was the highest points scorer for the hosts while Singh Harjeet (No.13) top scored for India.
Both Sri Lanka and India got selected from the South Asian region to participate at the FIBA Asian Championship 2023 in Qatar from 17-24 September.
The Championship was hosted by the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation from 28-31 August at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. The three-way tussle was contested by Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka.
Previous Results: Match 1. Sri Lanka 97-51 Maldives
Match 2. India 90-34 Maldives