The FIBA 3×3 Men`s World Cup hit the streets on the 17th of June and will go on till the 21st of June. Sri Lanka played their first two group matches on the 18th of June; first against Ukraine and the second against Estonia.
Sri Lanka is drafted in pool C alongside Ukraine, Estonia, Qatar and Poland. The top two teams of each pool will qualify into the quarter-finals.
Sri Lanka v Ukraine
Sri Lanka did have the first check in the match but failed to convert it to a scoring possession. Ukraine replied the miss drawing first blood. Both teams needed to settle themselves down and adapt into the playing conditions. Both teams were not par with shooting as they went onto miss quite a few shots inside and outside the perimeter. Yet in comparison Ukraine was better than Sri Lanka.
Thimothi NIthushan missed the first free-throw opportunity but made amends as he went on to score first for the islanders. Nithushan scored a couple back-to-back points with his signature lay-up scooping through the defenders but it wasn`t enough to tuck the game away in the pocket.
Height clearly made the difference between the teams as Ukraine`s defense and rebounding topped the charts. It was a rough road in penetrating towards the rim as a number of shots were blocked. Even though the penetrating was tough, Sri Lanka could have made a match out of it, if islanders were able to get the jump-shots inside the rim. Unfortunately, shooting was not on point.
Height disadvantage will always be with Sri Lanka hence they will need to find form with their shooting if they want to keep their hope up alive. Ukraine won the first match beating Sri Lanka 21-09.
Full time: Ukraine – 21 Sri Lanka – 09
Sri Lanka v Estonia
Estonia had the first check of the game drawing first blood right away. From the first check till the end Estonia dominated the game. Defence, offense, rebounds, blocks, shooting, you name it, they were on top. They were on a 10-0 run at one point of the game.
The only couple of points for the Islanders were scored by Sudesh Paiva as he went on to swish the nets for a two pointer off the perimeter. The high and quick passes, quick rotation around the perimeter and the tight defence took the game away from the Islanders.
There was nothing much the Sri Lankans could have done as they were outsmarted in every angle. The only ace in the pack for the Lankans were the shooting outside the perimeter but it was below par. Sri Lanka missed a couple of under-the-baskets and went on to air-ball a couple of two pointers. If only they were scored, Sri Lanka could have had the momentum shift towards them.
Full time: Estonia – 21 Sri Lanka – 02
Sri Lanka will take on Qatar at 8.00 PM SL Time on the 20th of June and following that will be the match against Poland at 9.10 PM SL Time on 20th of June.
