Sri Lanka took on Hong-Kong in the first match of the FIBA U18 Asia Championship in Bangkok, Thailand. Sri Lanka failing to stick to the basics of the game walked away in despair as the full time scoreboard read 87-41. Hong-Kong led the game at half time 40-10.  

Sri Lanka did win the traditional jump ball as Manthila Gallasage got a tap on it, but failed to convert it into points. S. Lau hustling to the ball early in the game stole it from Dilumi Goonerwardene as she drew first blood for Hong-Kong. It was not the best starts for the Lankan hoopsters as they managed to score only one basket for the entire maiden ten minutes. Hong-Kong went on a scoring rampage for nine long minutes in the quarter and managed to hold the scoreboard at 22-0. It was Resuree Wijesundera who converted one of her two free-throw attempts into points and got the party started for the Sri Lanka.

First Quarter : Hong-Kong – 24 Sri Lanka – 01

Dilumi Goonerwardena`s first shot at the hoop was a miss as Sri Lanka had first possession at the start of the second quarter. It was skipper Nirma Sasanthi who ticked the scoreboard first in the second quarter converting two out of two free throws early on. Hong-Kong topped the rebound and defensive charts as their agility in the court got them the comfortable lead in the game.

The ball was stolen many times off the hands of the Sri Lankan`s which were converted into easy points at the other end. Nirma Sasanthi got four free throw attempts during the rest of the quarter, where she only managed to convert two of them. Resuree Wijesundera added four points in to the game where in total Sri Lanka made nine points in reply to the sixteen points of Hong-Kong.

At the end of the second quarter Nirma Sasanthi had seven rebounds and Resuree Wijesundara had five points under her name. For Hong-Kong, S. Lau had fourteen points, M.Shek had five rebounds and N. Wonh had three assists.

Half Time : Hong Kong – 40 Sri Lanka – 10

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Sri Lanka was in desperate need of stopping the leakage of points from the other end as the heavy lead they let go in the maiden quarter hadalready started to haunt them. Hong-Kong continuing their scoring momentum, commenced the second half with a mid-range jumper as N.Wong added a couple into the scorecard. Sri Lanka keeping half a step back in the game added sixteen points into the game. Hong-Kong replied with twenty-one points.

It was a tough ask to for the Sri Lankan`s to get back into the game as Hong-Kong kept on the scoring momentum making sure that Sri Lanka does not settle into the game.

Third Quarter : Hong Kong – 61 Sri Lanka – 26

Coming into the final six hundred seconds of the game Sri Lanka had a lot of work to do for them to end up on the winning side. Firstly, tighten screws in the defense and most importantly stick to the basics of the game. Bad passes and ball handling was not up to the mark as many turn overs and steals were recorded against Sri Lanka.

Hong-Kong already leading the game comfortably just had to keep on the flow and rhythm for another ten minutes. Sri Lanka scored fifteen points in the final quarter in reply to another twenty-six points from Hong-Kong. With points leaking at the other end and not much time in the clock everything was going wrong for Sri Lanka as they ended the match with a forty-six-point deficit.

Full Time : Hong Kong – 87 Sri Lanka 41

Sri Lanka will play the next match against Indonesia tomorrow (November 14th 2016) at 9.30 am. 

Zero basics, cost first match for Sri Lanka
Source/Courtesy: FIBA.com
Zero basics, cost first match for Sri Lanka
Source/Courtesy: FIBA.com