Playing their fourth and final round-robin encounter, defending champions India dominated Nepal 90-44 and earned yet another victory. India made the most of their size advantage against a smaller Nepal team and scored a majority of their points in the paint while opening a 19-point lead in the very first quarter.
India’s veteran shooting guard Vishesh Bhriguvanshi continued his scoring spree as he tallied 22 points in the encounter. Shooting guard Anil Kumar BK also chipped in with 16 points off the bench.
The second half of the game saw young players Jeevanatham Pandi, Muin Bek and Vishal Kumar Gupta get some valuable playing time. Pandi made the most of this opportunity by using his size to grab offensive rebounds and score 12 points for the team.
For Nepal, Ashim Shrestha was the leading scorer with nine points as Nepal’s shooters struggled against India’s zone defence.
Bhriguvanshi was declared the Player of the Match.
India have now ensured qualification for themselves and their top club team, in the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon from 8-20 August and the FIBA Asia Champions Cup respectively.
India (Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 22, Anil Kumar BK 16) bt Nepal (Ashim Shrestha 9) 90-44 [25-06, 20-07, 26-13, 19-18]
JerseyNumber | Family Name/Last Name | Given Name/First Name | Place of Birth | Date of Birth (dd/mm/yy) | Height | Position | |
5 | Pari | Akilan (c) | Chennai | Tamil Nadu | 20/07/1989 | 180 (5’10.8”) | PG |
4 | Hafeez | Muin Bek | Dharmapuri | Tamil Nadu | 16/03/1996 | 190(6’2”) | F |
6 | Sivakumar | Prasanna Venkatesh | Gobichettipalayam | Tamil Nadu | 25/09/1992 | 186 (6’1”) | F |
7 | Bukankere Krishne Gowda | Anil Kumar | Mandya | Karnataka | 31/07/1989 | 185(6’) | F |
8 | Singh | Arjun | Varanasi | Uttar Pradesh | 8/6/1992 | 189(6’2”) | SG |
9 | Bhriguvanshi | Vishesh | Varanasi | Uttar Pradesh | 13/09/1991 | 195(6’4.5”) | SG |
10 |
| Amritpal Singh | Ganna Pind | Punjab | 05/01/1991 | 207(6’9.5”) | C |
11 | Gupta | Vishal Kumar | Chapar Village | Delhi | 07/12/1999 | 198(6’5”) | C |
12 | Bhardwaj | Ravi | Chandigarh | Chandigarh
| 31/10/1992 | 207(6’9.5”) | C |
13 | Pandi | Jeevanatham | Virudhunagar | Tamil Nadu | 13/10/1994 | 204(6’7”) | C |
14 |
| Yadwinder Singh | Rasulpur Khurd | Punjab
| 30/12/1986 | 198(6’6”) | PF |
15 | Pethani | Rikin | Sajiavadar Amreli | Gujarat
| 02/12/1990 | 203(6’8”) | PF/C |
Coaches: Sappaniambalam Baskar (Head Coach) and Sebastian Padipurakkal Joseph (Assistant Coach)
Manager: Sushil Kumar
Physiotherapist: Raj Kumar Dubey
FIBA Referee: Ceciline Michael Vino Vincent Francis Victor.
Previous Editions/Winners:
2016: Bengaluru — 1st India, 2nd Bangladesh
2015: Bengaluru — 1st India, 2nd Sri Lanka
2014: Kathmandu — 1st India 2nd Bangladesh
2013 (June): Delhi — 1st India, 2nd Afghanistan. (From this edition onwards, the tournament changed from a standalone event to a qualifying Championship to the Asian level)
2013 (Jan): Dhaka — 1st Bangladesh, 2nd Pakistan (India, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka did not participate)
2012: Assam — 1st India, 2nd Bangladesh.
Qualification for 2017 FIBA Asia Cup and FIBA Asia Champions Cup
The country that wins the SABA Championship 2017 ensures its qualification for the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 and earns a qualification for its top club team to the FIBA Asia Champions Cup – a tournament where the top club teams of FIBA Asia go head to head (previously known as known as the Asian Basketball Confederation Champions Cup).
The FIBA Asia Cup 2017, FIBA Asia’s flagship event, will be played from August 8-20 in Beirut, Lebanon.
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