Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh, pile up win No. 01

Sri Lanka played Bangladesh in their opening game of the South Asian Basketball Championship 2018 (SABA 2018), which acts as the pre-qualifier for the Asia Cup 2021. The SABA 2018 is being played in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Lankan lads, getting the ideal start to their campaign, drowned the home team at full time, 65-34.  

Previous Games

Bangladesh beat Bhutan 61-49

Starting Five

Sri Lanka: Joseph Gayan, Roshan Suranga, Praneeth Udumalagala, Roshan Randima, Isuru Prabath.  

Bangladesh: Md Ataur Rahaman, Mithun Shankar, Md Tareq Aziz, Mithun Kumar Biswas, Md Shamsuzzaman Khan.  

Game in a Nutshell

Bangladesh, who walked into the game after a win and being the home side, played some disappointing basketball against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, identified the weakness of the opposition early and exploited them well.

Sri Lanka created a balance between their offense and defense during the first two quarters and tightened the screws on the home team. They then capitalized more on their offense during the second half and were able to claim the win with ease.

Bangladesh seemed to have lost the plot entirely in every aspect of the game. The Sri Lankan man-to-man defense completely blocked off the lanes for the hosts to score during their offensive possessions. Bangladesh struggled as Sri Lanka passed the ball around the perimeter and executed their offensive game plans. Even though Bangladesh did opt for a tight man-to-man defense, the offensive game plans of Sri Lanka always left one man open to take the shot freely. Bangladesh never adapted to it.

Sri Lanka went on to score 12 points in the first quarter in reply to the couple by the hosts. For the second and third quarter Sri Lanka went on to add 15 and 19 points respectively. Bangladesh only managed, 07 and 08. Both the teams did score 19 points each in the final quarter, but the early lead helped Sri Lanka close the game, 34-65.

Key Stats

Red = Bangladesh Yellow = Sri Lanka

Shooting Percentage – Sri Lanka`s 50.94 field goal percentage drove a knife right through the opposition. It included 20 two-pointers out of 25 attempted shots, which is evidence of the form Sri Lanka depicted in the game. Sri Lanka did not hesitate to drive in, stop halfway through and go for the mid-range jumper. Bangladesh on the other hand recorded a field goal percentage of 28.09, because once they started driving through the lane, the players lacked support to pass the ball on to.  

Rebounds – Sri Lanka`s transition from defense to offense was smooth. The opposition post players were always blocked out which made it an easy task for the Lankans to etch the rebounds. It was then neatly passed over to the point guard without a hassle. Sri Lanka recorded a total of 23 defensive rebounds. Bangladesh did have 20 defensive rebounds under their cards, but their clearing out was very sloppy not letting the rest of the players adjust.    

Sri Lanka scored 13 points off turnovers while the home team only managed 10. Sri Lanka went on to score 30 points in the paint and 12 points off fast breaks while the opposing team had to settle with 14 and 05 respectively.

Bangladesh topped the charts in steals with 13 while Sri Lanka only managed 06. Sri Lanka forced 22 turnovers over the hosts while they settled with 18. Sri Lanka did give away 13 fouls which in turn put them behind in comparison as Bangladesh only gave away 11 fouls.

Top Performers

Sri Lanka – Experienced campaigner Roshan Randima topped the list. Playing in the point guard position, his game sense, slowing the pace down when needed and hastning when needed, took the opposition`s rhythm away in their defense. It helped the rest of players opt for their shots at ease and Roshan Randima fed the ball equally to his counter-parts. Roshan scored 06 points while recording, 03 rebounds, 08 assists and 03 steals.

Bangladesh – MD Shamsuzzaman Khan, the only live-wire in the Bangladesh side, who did play some valuable minutes of basketball but lacked support from his team-mates. He was fighting a lone battle against a well compiled opposition. He went on to score 13 points while recording, 02 rebounds, 01 assists and a steal.