DHAKA (FIBA Asia Cup 2021 SABA Pre-Qualifier) – Nepal will be cursing its luck. On Day 2, the side suffered its second straight three point defeat, this time at the hands of Bhutan. With this loss Nepal is now 0-2, while Bhutan posted its first win of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 SABA Pre-Qualifier that is underway at the Dhanmondi Indoor Gymnasium in Dhaka.

Nepal started strong, with a 13-2 run before Bhutan rediscovered its counter attacking ways that it had showed yesterday against Bangladesh. Bhutan went on a giant 19-5 run of its own to lead 21-18 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter witnessed see saw back and forth action and by the end of the first half, there was little to separate the two speedy sides deadlocked at 38 points apiece.

Bhutan was happy to send Nepal to the freethrow line as many as 30 times. But Nepal’s abysmal freethrow shooting meant that it was able to convert only 13 of its attempts (43.33%). The fast paced and error prone game saw both teams turning the ball over a combined 45 times, in a haste to get easy transition buckets. In the end, Bhutan proved to be marginally better executers of the small ball offense and eked out a 68-65 win.

In the second game of the day, Sri Lanka began its campaign in blowout fashion, completely annihilating hosts Bangladesh 65-34. Bangladesh centre Mithun Kumar Biswas, who was the top scorer yesterday was completely overpowered down low. As a result Sri Lanka outscored Bangladesh in the paint 30-14, and led from start to finish.

Despite 45 field goal attempts, Bangladesh shot a woeful 29% percent missing easy layups and jumpshots. The game was virtually decided at the end of the first half itself, with Sri Lanka leading 27-9. Bangladesh had a torrid first three quarters, scoring 2, 7 and 6 points respectively, to make it a no contest. The hosts finally showed signs of life in the fourth period matching Sri Lanka shot for shot, but by then it was too little too late.

 In Day 3 action lined up for tomorrow, the tournament's fastest sides Maldives and Bhutan will battle it out in an exciting contest at 2:30 pm (local time), followed by Sri Lanka vs Nepal at 5pm. 

 RESULTS:

Bhutan beat Nepal, 68-65

Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh, 65-34

FIBA