BENGALURU, July 3: Playing with poise and purpose, the senior Indian men’s basketball team steamrolled past eastern neighbours Nepal and Bangladesh on the opening day of the 4th South Asian Basketball Association SABA Championship at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here today.
If the defending champions outplayed Nepal 90-37 in their first game then the ‘Young Cagers’ opened the gap of victory against Bangladesh in their second match of the day with a 122-39 win.
India though are without its key starters Amritpal Singh, Amjyot Singh (both playing in Japan), and ONGC/Uttarakhand veterans Yadwinder Singh and Vishesh Bhriguvanshi.
But in their absence, other first time forwards Aravind Annadurai (from Tamil Nadu), Aravind (from Karnataka), and youngster Gurvinder Singh Gill (ex- junior India captain from Punjab) more than stepped up to fill the void.
Dominating in the paint, the much taller Indian frontline posed insurmountable challenges for the Nepal and Bangladesh sides. Nepal, in particular, have struggled to prepare for this Championship, with their main Dasarath Indoor Stadium in Kathmandu having been damaged in last month’s devastating earthquake.
In both their games, India led from start to finish, with a widening lead each quarter. Hearteningly Indian Head Coach Prasad Rama Linga continued with his predecessor Scott Flemming’s strategy of aggressive man to man defence, patient ball movement, and multiple easy transition scoring opportunities. (PTI)
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