India defeated Sri Lanka to top Group A but both the teams advanced into the semifinals. Nepal will next face either India or Sri Lanka.[break]
Nepal dominated the match from the first quarter and continued it till the end for the impressive win. Nepal took the first quarter 24-13 as Sanjay Byanjankar (senior) scored nine points with three rebounds. Nepal took the second quarter 20-13 for an 18-point lead by the half time. Sadish Pradhan scored 10 points in the second quarter while the star of first period Byanjankar failed to score a single point.
After the half time, Nepali players’ shooting was not as good as earlier but they took the third period 16-13 for a 21-point lead. Nepal scored 19 for 14 in the final period to seal the match and qualify for the semifinals.
Nepal scored eight points from the turnover which was less than Bhutan’s 10 points. However, Nepal scored 38 points from the paint while Bhutan scored 36 points. Nepal dominated the fast break scoring six points while Bhutan was not able to use the fast break.
Binod Maharjan and Bikram Joshi took 10 and 11 offensive and defensive rebounds respectively for the team. In total, Nepal took 60 rebounds against 44 rebounds of Bhutan. Byanjankar, Pradhan and Maharjan were the key players of Nepal as the trio shared 54 points out of the total 79 for the victory. Pradhan scored 21 points off 25 attempts including free throws. Byanjankar scored 18 points off 11 attempts as he only missed a free throw in six shots.
Chophel Galden and Phuntsho Tsher were the highest scorers for Bhutan with 14 and 12 points each. Both the players’ shared 19 personal rebounds for the team.
Bhutan coach Texin Jatsho said that the players did not play as expected and that he was not satisfied with the game. “We were not able to paly outside game because of the good defense of Nepali players and had to play inside game, which was not enough for the victory.”
Jatsho further added that they had practised just for two weeks and had brought the team for exposure. “This India tour is like an educational tour for us.”
Nepal’s coach Dinesh Nakarmi said the team was able to win the match as expected. “Bhutanese players had good physique but they lacked skills,” he said.
When asked about the match against Bangladesh, coach Nakarmi said that his side is prepared to meet them and also expressed his confidence in winning the match.
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