Sri Lanka took on Bangladesh in the second match of the pre-qualifiers, after losing the first match to Bahrain yesterday. Bangladesh stepped onto the court looking for a win, but Sri Lanka managed to pull off a narrow escape registering an important win, keeping their hopes alive for the FIBA Asia Cup 2021. Final scores read: 60-63.

Previous Games (Head to Head)

Game in a Nutshell

The game was squared 59 all with a minute remaining on the clock. Kisal Cooray swished one out of the couple of free-throws that was awarded to Sri Lanka, and got back a 1 point lead, 60-59. The next 60 seconds of the game was in favor of the islanders to register a nail biting win. From being down 6 points to none at the start of the game and to come back and win, it was a scintillating game of basketball for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka`s first half performance was bizarre. The first points for Sri Lanka were scored after 06 minutes into the game, which showed poor signs of shooting. Bangladesh looked to be on top in the first half, by connecting their shots and grabbing the important boards, they topped the opposition with ease.

  • Photo Credit : FIBA.basketball

It was the second half of the game that lit up the match. Sri Lanka came back into the game with a sagging man-to-man defense which exerted pressure early on for the Bangladesh lads. The tight defense helped the Lankan lads to focus on grabbing the missed rebounds and opt for the second chances.

Sri Lanka`s shooting was below par. It was only in the fourth quarter that Sri Lanka depicted signs of connecting shots at ease. It was unlucky for Bangladesh to not have ended up on the winning side, as they executed their game plans well. The last-minute fouls given away by Bangladesh turned tables around for the Lankans.

If Sri Lanka had continued to play lousy basketball in the second half just as the first half, the story on the scoreboard would have looked different. The back to back three pointers from Praneeth Udumalagala and Roshan Randima at the closing stages of the third quarter helped the Lankan`s to take that confidence in to the final quarter.

The plan for the fourth quarter was simple. Connect the shots and stick to the basics. The match was a must win for Sri Lanka if they are to qualify for the next round of the Asia Cup 2021 qualifiers. Having beaten Bangladesh previously at the SABA Championship perhaps gave them the confidence. Sri Lanka managed to scrape through, narrowly placing them in the next level of qualifiers with a three-point win.  

Key Stats

Shooting Percentage

Sri Lanka`s shooting was not up to the standard. If at all, it was the fourth quarter that Sri Lanka started connecting the shots. The third quarter was the stepping stone; it was balanced during the final quarter. Bangladesh was on top from the jump-ball start, converting almost all the free-throws that were awarded. Sri Lanka`s shots were off target, in-balanced and hurried.

Rebounds

Even though both the teams were matched equally in terms of height, Bangladesh topped the cards. Sri Lanka lacked rebounding in both offense and defense during the first half. It was the change in defense that helped the lads to contest for the rebounds in the second half. It was the positioning of the Lankan players that created the gaps, which were gracefully filled by Bangladesh. Into the second half, it was an equal contest.   

Sri Lanka was behind in fast break points once more. It is important to find the rhythm to pass wide across and swift from defense to offense to score quickly. Yet the positive point to note would be that Sri Lanka`s bench played good minutes of basketball. The different combinations and quick rotations helped the Lankan lads not to stay off rhythm for a long time.

Fouls caused a major impact. Two unsportsmanlike fouls from Timothi Nithushan and Kisal Cooray were successfully converted by the opposition. Both the fouls were given away during crucial moments of the game. It was the steals and the blocks that came into life during the fourth quarter that provided the extra help to secure the win.

Top Performer

Roshan Randima (Sri Lanka) – The experienced point guard scored 13 points and grabbed 04 rebounds. It was important that he kept his nerve when Praneeth Udumalagala was performing so well from one end. Top scoring in both games, Praneeth needed Roshan to handle the composure whenever he was substituted in. It was what bough the best out of the other players.