The FIBA 3×3 U18 Asian Championships concluded yesterday after Japan won the girls’ bracket and Qatar, coming into the tournament as favorites, won the boy`s championship of the tournament. Here’s what happened to the two teams representing Sri Lanka.
Day Two
On the second day of the tournament, it was a must win couple of games for the Sri Lanka boys’ team if they wanted to remain in the competition but unfortunately, they lost their first game of the day against Kyrgyzstan by a twelve-point margin as the final score read 5-17.
The second and the final game that the boys` team participated in was against Indonesia. Indonesia running riot in the game, kept their scoring momentum up as they notched twenty-one points. Sri Lanka bowed out of the tournament without winning a single game in the boys’ bracket.
On the other side, the girl`s team found touch as they qualified for the quarter-final stage of the tournament continuing their sublime form.
Sri Lanka won the first game against Kyrgyzstan comfortably as they scored 21 in reply to the opponents’ 16. The second game was against the Asian powerhouse Japan who werethe clear cut favorites of the tournament.
Sri Lanka took them on with a gutty performance as they lost the game only by a couple of points. The game went right down to the wire with Japan coming out on top 10-08.
Day Three
Sri Lanka v Malaysia (3rd Quarter Final)
Both sides started off the game with supreme defense as it was zero-zero run for the first two minutes of the game. It was Malaysia who started troubling the scorers by converting a free throw. Shereen Preena opened up the islanders’ account by laying in a beauty.
The home team seemed to have done their homework as they executed their defensive plan to the point. Nirma Sasanthi was kept out of the game as all her passing lanes were denied by the defense. She was the in-form player for Sri Lanka and losing her services put them in a tough spot.
Malaysia transferred the same momentum into their offense as they kept ticking the scoreboard and gradually shifted the game away from the Sri Lankans. The full-time score read in favor of Malaysia 15-03.
Thus, the girls’ team bid adieu to this year`s edition of FIBA U18 3×3 Asian Championships.
All in all, it was a good tournament for Sri Lanka as a whole. 3×3 being the shorter, much more exciting version of the game, Sri Lanka clearly does have the talent and the potential to conquer greater heights in the format.
Even though the boys did have an unfortunate run, the girls’ team did perform well and that start itself could be converted to advance ahead. Yet, it is crucial that these young players are given the international exposure continuously if they are to build on their success so far.
