BEIRUT (FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Pre-Qualifiers) – Sri Lanka's Praneeth Udumalagala tallied over four thousand votes in a poll to pick the favorite player from the Western Region Pre-Qualifiers. 

In the process, Udumalagala ranked higher in popularity than six other candidates, including Palestine superstar Sani Sakakini who came a close second with 3400 votes. 

FIBA.com reached out to Udumalagala via email to better understand his unique hoops journey and the popularity of basketball in his island nation of Sri Lanka. 

"It [basketball] is definitely is growing among Sri Lanka's youth. There are many youngsters who follow the NBA and grow up loving the game. The 3x3 version has also been a reason for basketball to grow among kids in Sri Lanka," Udumalagala tell us.

"The best example [of basketball's growing popularity in Sri Lanka] is the recent voting that FIBA Asia conducted for the Western Region. People went out of their way to put the word out there to vote for me, throughout all the social media channels." 

At the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Western Region Pre-Qualifiers held earlier this September in Bahrain, Udumalagala averaged 17.3 ppg, helping Sri Lanka secure the final qualifying berth at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers. 

Udumalagala's scoring numbers are among the top three players in the competition. But his stats are even more impressive considering that the entire Sri Lanka team on the whole averaged only 51 points per game.

Sri Lankan teams have generally been undersized, and although listed as a small forward, the 6ft 2’’ Udumalagala is clearly more suited for the guard position.

"Lack of size undoubtedly is one of the reasons why Sri Lankan basketball has struggled," admits Udumalagala. "But the solution for many of the questions we face is having a long term plan and following it up every step of the way. Since we lack the physique I believe our style of basketball has to be faster with better accuracy in outside shooting."

This willingness to look at the silver lining and proactively seek out solutions is what prompted Udumalagala to move to the US to hone his training and increase his competitive exposure. Udumalagala joined the four year business management programme at the Texas Wesleyan University  which ended up winning the NAIA Division 1 National Championship in 2017.

Udumalagala believes he is the first player born and raised in Sri Lanka to have successfully played college basketball abroad. It was an experience that he considers his "turning point", which took his game to a "whole different level" and helped him gain confidence. This in turn allowed him to return to his national team and compete at a high level against quality international opponents. 

"I loved the experience I had at the Western Region Pre-Qualifiers. The new [FIBA competition] format has given us a chance of competing with teams like Bahrain, Palestine and UAE. The experience players get by playing against such teams and elite players is something that’s needed for Sri Lankan basketball to improve. It shows us how other countries and teams compete and it’s always a learning experience for us to get to that level one day." 

With the 25-year-old Udumalagala expected to continue leading the charge for Sri Lanka at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers next year, the future appears bright for basketball in the south Asian island nation.

Udumalagala couldn't agree more. 

"Qualifying for the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 will be huge for 'Sri Lanka Basketball'. We need to compete [at] our best and improve one step at a time."

FIBA