The Indian basketball team opened its third South Asian Basketball Championship (SABA) campaign with a commanding 95-39 win over defending champions Bangladesh here today.
Bangladesh, who clinched the second edition of this tournament last year when India didn't take part, had won a tense amatch against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
India on their part were always ahead of Bangladesh as the holders were left trying to play catch up for almost four full quarters.
As expected, India's giant frontcourt of 7 feet centre Amrit Pal Singh, 6ft 10 inch Amjyot Singh dominated their much shorter opponents with multiple rebounds and offensive putbacks.
Indian coach Scott Flemming used all 12 of his players in the rotation.
India's pressing defense didn't allow Bangladesh to settle down into an offensive rhythm. As expected, India's excellent team defense converted into easy fast break opportunities which led them to a convincing 51-21 lead at halftime.
The final score of 95-39 underlined the yawning gap between India and the rest of the South Asian teams in this competition. India will next take on hosts Nepal.
Detailed Results:
India 95 (Amjyot Singh 16) bt Bangladesh 39 (Biswash Kumar Mithun 14) [Scores at the end of each quarter: 19-10; 51-21; 78-28; 95-39].
