Cuttack: Hosts India started off their campaign on a brilliant note with a comfortable 154-32 win against Maldives in the FIBA U 18 Asia Championship 2022 SABA Qualifiers at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack.
Maldives were knocked out of reckoning ending up on the losing side for the second day in succession with the 3 teams participating in the Championship playing on a round robin format.
The winner of the Championship will be decided Saturday as India take on Bangladesh and qualifying for the FIBA Asia Cup scheduled in Tehran, Iran during August.
Indian coaches Veselin Matic and Mohit Bhandari exuded confidence pre-game and the players never let them down with a superb performance which augurs well for the future of Indian basketball.
Kushal Singh started the scoring spree of a lay-up early in the game and such was the dominance of the host that the Maldives failed to score in the first quarter and could get a successful shot only in the 3rd minute of the second quarter.
Captain Harsh Dagar playing as a shooting guard led from the front and with their center player Jitendra Kumar Sharma and power forward Lokendra Singh keeping the scorers busy, saw them take a 33-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
India continued to dominate and enjoyed territorial advantage attacking relentlessly from the flanks as they scored with consummate ease against a hapless Maldivian side that succumbed to the continuous onslaught.
