SABA U18 Championship 2024: Indian men's team wins gold, qualifies for FIBA U18 Asia Cup
Defending champions Indian men’s U18 basketball team secured the gold medal in the SABA U18 Championship 2024 at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in the Sri Lankan capital to earn their spot at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup to be hosted in Amman, Jordan. The Indian team bagged the top podium with an 87-62 win in the final over hosts Sri Lanka, who secured the silver medal.
Maldives settled for the bronze position after a 59-57 win over Bangladesh in the third-place playoff encounter.
This four-day SABA U18 Championship was an ideal platform for the young Indian team before they compete with the strong Asian countries in September 2024 in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup.
Mohammad Ishan was the game-changer for India in SABA U18 Championship final
The towering Mohammad Ishan was the game-changer for the Indian U18 team as he finished with 22 points, 20 rebounds, and 5 blocks to turn the tables in the third quarter for India.
Also, Haryana’s Lavish, Tamil Nadu’s Mirthun Vel Dhanasekar, and Rajasthan’s Nitesh Kumar played crucial roles, scoring important points to reverse the fortunes of the Indian team.
By the end of the first quarter, the Indian team had only a three-point lead, with the scoreline reading 19-16. However, the hosts made a strong comeback in the second quarter to take a lead and tie the scoreline at 43-43.
Anthony Bernard and Eveen Senarathna accumulated 13 points apiece to take Sri Lanka to 43-all, entering the halftime intermission. However, they couldn’t continue the same momentum in the match in the second half.
In the third quarter, the Indian team dominated the opposition and ended the final quarter with a final scoreline of 87-62 to earn their spot in the FIBA U18 Asian Cup, scheduled for September 2024.
The four teams taking part in the competition are hosts Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, and Bangladesh. India dominated throughout the tournament, topping the pool stage with three consecutive victories. They initiated the competition with a win over the hosts with a scoreline of 88-44.
Later, they bagged wins over the Maldives and Bangladesh with scorelines of 117-44 and 110-37, respectively, at full-time to top the pool stage in the SABA U18 Championship.