Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, July 10:

Nepal ended its Middle Asia Zone Qualifying Tournament without a win, when the national team lost to Uzbekistan 50-142 in the fourth match in New Delhi today. In the five-team tournament, Nepal finished fifth, while the other teams — Kazakhstan, India, Uzbekistan, and Bangladesh — who grabbed the top four spots respectively qualified for the 23rd FIBA Asian Cup to be held in Doha, Qatar in September. On Sunday, Rupak Gurung opened the scoring with a two-pointer and Bipendra Maharjan added another two-pointer, but the Uzbek hopsters

bounced back to outplay the Nepali players. Nepali players were restricted to 11 points by Uzbeks, who added 32 in the first quarter. Uzbekistan players scored 27 to Nepal’s 15 in the second quarter. Nepal added 10 in the third and 14 in the last two quarters. Rupak top-scored with 17 points and Bipendra scored 14 points for Nepal, while Uzbekistan scored 38 and 45. Nepal lost to India 50-131 in the first match, then went down to Bangladesh 91-62, and were outplayed by Kazakhstan 39-144 in the third match. According to NBA, the Nepali team is returning to Kathmandu tomorrow.