ALMATY (Kazakhstan) – Hosts Kazakhstan completed the proceedings in Group B of the FIBA Asia Cup 2029 Pre-Qualifiers at the Baluan Sholaq Sports Palace on Monday, cantering their way to an 87-58 win over Sri Lanka.
Earlier, Kyrgyzstan gained some brownie points by beating Maldives 95-37, thus avoiding returning home empty-handed.
Kazakhstan, along with Sri Lanka and the unbeaten Palestine, have made it to the Second Round, where in Group E they will line up against Bahrain, UAE and Kuwait, who have booked their tickets from Group A of the First Round.
Shaim Kuanov, who had accumulated 16 points over the previous three games, led Kazakhstan with 15 points, with the coach expectedly giving the bench more time than routine.
Ruslan Aitkali added a dozen points and pulled down seven rebounds in the win.
Kande Mendis led Sri Lanka with 19 points.
Teenage guard Esenbai Kubatbekov utilised the opportunity and returned a joint game-high 18 points for Kyrgyzstan in an 11-man rotation that saw all of them score.
Veteran Mohamed Khuwailid Ali too had 18 points, but in a losing cause for Maldives.
FIBA