Kathmandu, September 6

Nepal began the U-16 SABA Basketball Championship campaign with a convincing win over Bhutan here at the National Sports Council covered hall today.

Nepal thrashed Bhutan 96-38. Abhishek Singh of Nepal top scored in the match with 23 points, while Chiranjibi Rokaya contributed 20 points. Nepal took the first quarter 26-10 but Bhutan briefly staged a comeback by winning the second period with a narrow margin of 14-13. However, Nepal claimed third quarter 26-6 to extend the lead before taking last period 21-8 to hand Bhutan their second straight defeat. Bhutan had faced a 117-43 defeat at th hands of Bangladesh on Tuesday.

In another match, India defeated Bangladesh 82-65 to record their second straight victory. India, who had defeated Maldives 152-17 on Tuesday, claimed first quarter 26-13 but they lost the second period 18-16. India took third period 16-9 before Bangladesh failed to avert the defeat despite winning the final period 25-24. Priyanshu top scored 28 points for India’s second victory.