DHAKA (FIBA Asia Cup 2021 SABA Pre-Qualifier) – Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have secured the two SABA qualifying spots to the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Pre-Qualifiers to be held later this September.

Sri Lanka beat Bhutan 71-60 on the final day to finish with an undefeated 4-0 record in the round robin competition. The Lankans had already qualified yesterday with a game to spare, while 1-2 Bhutan had already been knocked out. Sri Lanka led from start to finish, and a dominant 21-4 second quarter made this a lopsided contest. Assured of victory, in the second half, Sri Lanka was able to take it easy and allowed Bhutan to end the game with a respective scoreline.

The crucial game of the day was between Bangladesh and Maldives. Coming into this game, both teams were tied at 2 wins and 1 loss,. The winner from today's game would go through to the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Pre-Qualifiers as the second team from the SABA region.

Considering Bangladesh’s error prone tournament so far, Maldives was expected to give its opponents a scare. But Bangladesh stepped up to the plate with a strong 18-11, 18-11 and 17-12 first three quarters.

Both teams turned the ball over a whopping 25 times each, but it was Bangladesh which capitalized from the same, scoring 30 points off these turnovers as against only 10 for Maldives. Four Bangladesh starters scored in double digits underlining its balanced attack. 

 RESULTS:

Sri Lanka beat Bhutan, 71-60

Bangladesh beat Maldives, 74-57

FIBA