Sri Lanka’s basketball team showed some real grit against the reigning Asian champs, Mongolia, but fell short in a nail-biting match at the FIFA 3X3 Asia Cup held in Singapore yesterday. Despite their best efforts, Mongolia edged past Sri Lanka with a final score of 15-13 in extra time following a 13-13 tie in regular time.
This marked Sri Lanka’s debut in the Asia Cup’s main draw, a significant achievement for the team. Though they fought tooth and nail, they couldn’t clinch the win against last year’s gold medalists. The match remained close until the very end, with Sri Lanka equalizing the score multiple times, including a crucial shot by Simron Yoganathan.
In their first main draw game, Sri Lanka had shown promise, having swept through the qualifying rounds undefeated. However, their luck took a turn in the main draw, where they faced tough competition. Despite tying the game at 13-all in regular time, Sri Lanka couldn’t capitalize in extra time succumbing to Mongolia’s experience.
In their subsequent match in Pool ‘B’, Sri Lanka’s lineup, featuring Pawan Gamage, Simron Yoganathan, Ruskshan Atapattu, and Dasun Mendis, faced a formidable Thai team and suffered a 21-9 defeat.
The results were disappointing for Sri Lanka, especially after their stellar performance in the qualifiers. It highlighted their relative inexperience at this level of competition. Nevertheless, this experience will undoubtedly serve as a learning curve, and with time, Sri Lanka could
emerge as a force to be reckoned with in basketball.
In Pool ‘B’, Mongolia stands at the top with 35 points from two wins, while Thailand follows closely behind with one win, also accumulating 35 points. Sri Lanka, unfortunately, finds themselves at the bottom of the pool ending their journey in the Asia Cup after two losses, amassing 22 points.
Sajeewa Jayakody