Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts

Lacklustre India fall to Syria

A lacklustre show by the Indian cagers, saw them fall to a dismal 17 points loss to Syria in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers.

By Chitrangada

Syrian skipper Micheal Madanly in action against India on Sunday.

Bengaluru, November 26: It was another heartbreaking game for the Indian men’s basketball team, as they fell to Syria in their home leg match on Sunday. A lacklustre show by the Indian cagers, saw them fall to a dismal 17 points loss to Syria in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Sunday (November 26) evening.

Both teams entered the match after losing their respective opening games. And desperate to get their campaign back on track, Syria notched up a much needed morale boosting win. Starting off the game, a determined India took the lead at the very onset. But that was the only time the hosts were in control, as Syria got right back into the game and held onto the lead from the first quarter.

Guided by a super show by their captain Micheal Madanly, who top scored for the visitors, Syria thumped the hosts in front of a 750-strong crowd. With the tickets being free for the match, the stadium was half full with the crowd backing on the hosts and booing the visitors. But there were a handful of Syrian supporters at the indoor stadium as well.

While Madanly top scored for Syria with 21 points, his counterpart the Indian skipper Satnam Singh led the hosts from the front, scoring 14 points. Madanly was aptly supported by Tarek Aljabi, the only other player with a double digit figure in the game, scoring 11 points for the visitors.

The first quarter looked like a battle of equals with Syria only taking a point lead at 15-14. Prasanna Venkatesh Sivakumar got the Indian team on the scoreboard, before Mandanly took over the reigns to put Syria in control.

From there on it was all downhill for the hosts, as the gap widened with each quarter, ultimately losing the game 57-74. Another blow for the hosts was that their star player Amritpal Singh was missing from action. Singh had returned home on the eve of the match due to some family commitment.

The Syrian coach, Veselin Matic, hailed the win as a much needed confidence booster, after their crushing loss to Jordan, which the coach said was the worst loss of the national team.

Speaking after the game, Matic said, “We played very badly in the previous game and we had to come back. It was double pressure for us as we had to prove we are not that bad. That was the motivation as well heading into this game. We have to learn from this game, and have to learn to never give up. We want to show that we are a respectable team and we want to play better and better.

“I really respect the Indian team. I had the option to coach India but I chose Syria. But I think the Indian team is very strong and we were wary of them heading into the match.”

Meanwhile Mandanly praised the hosts after the win. “We came into the game knowing it won’t be easy. India is a very good team. Especially in the last couple of years they’ve improved a lot and in a few years time they will be one of the top teams.

“Our last game was our worst game in the national team and we needed to win this. They were missing a key player (Amritpal), but sometimes when a team is missing their key player they try to play better. So we did not take them likely. We learn from every game. We made a lot of mistakes in today’s game and we will fix them. We never play the perfect game and we have a lot of mistakes to solve.”

The skipper also thanked the handful of fans supporting them, “We are here for the Syrian people. We weren’t expecting any fans so far away from home. It was a big boost.”

Syria will next take on Lebanon on the February 23.

Meanwhile Indian coach Zoran Visic rued the lack of preparation time and said they had a long way to go. “This time we had no time to recover and that’s why we’ve played this way. In this moment this is the best we can do. But the Indian players have tremendous potential and they will get better. What sets India back in the lack of leagues. That is a big set back, since the players here are very talented but need more games. That is our handicap.

“Qualifying chances are of course tough now. We have a lot of things to work on and I believe in the future we can have much better results,” signed off the coach.

India will next face Jordan in a Group C encounter on February 23.

Story first published: Sunday, November 26, 2017, 22:59 [IST]
Other articles published on Nov 26, 2017