Pranav Prince led the charge as India overpowered higher ranked hosts Syria 85-74 in its opening match of the Olympic…
Representation image (Photo: IANS)
Pranav Prince led the charge as India overpowered higher ranked hosts Syria 85-74 in its opening match of the Olympic Basketball Pre-Qualifying Tournament Asia at the Al-Fayhaa Sports Arena in Damascus.
Pranav Prince was India’s standout hoopster in the match, with 21 points. Amyjot Singh netted 12 while captain Vishesh Bhriguvanshi chipped in with eight points. Syrian captain Nadim Issa was the top scorer for the hosts scoring 21 points.
India, 82nd in the FIBA world rankings, started aggressively and took a 15-point lead in the first quarter against Syria, who are 10 places above India in the rankings. The early lead proved to be crucial as the rest of the three quarters proved to be a tense affair.
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Syria, trailing 31-16 in the first quarter, reduced the deficit to 13 points at half-time. However, India increased their lead to 18 points in the third quarter with the scoreboard reading 71-53 at the end of 30 minutes.
Led by their captain, Syria put on a spirited show in the final 10 minutes. They took eight points on the bounce at the start of the quarter and reduced the lead to seven with over three minutes to go. India, however, maintained their composure to win 85-74.
Six teams – India, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Syria – are competing in the Asian leg of the Olympic pre-qualifier basketball tournament for the Paris 2024 Games.
India’s next match is against world No. 85 Indonesia who beat Kazakhstan 91-82 in their opener . At world No. 65, Kazakhstan are the top-ranked side in the tournament.
Only the top team from the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Asia 2023 table will advance to the final Olympic basketball qualifying tournament scheduled in 2024.
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