The Indian men’s basketball team continued its unbeaten run at the ongoing FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Asia 2023 with a win over Indonesia by 90-74 on Sunday. Earlier, India had defeated Syria by 85-74 on Saturday. As per Olympics.com, with this win, India has joined Bahrain at the top of the points table with four points in two matches. Indonesia’s top-scoring players were Terrell Bolden (23 points) and Yudha Saputera (17 points).
But none other of their players managed to score more than seven points. But the Indian side looked much more all-round and complete with solid performances by Muin Bek Hafeez (15 points), Sahaij Sekhon (14 points), Arvind Kumar Muthu Krishnan (13 points) and Pranav Prince (12 points). Indonesia, who had upset Kazakhstan 91-82 in their first match, raised to a lead of 4-0 in the first minute itself. But after that Indian forward Muin Bek helped India win 10 points quickly. India, which is three places above FIBA World Rankings at number 82, did not look back after that.
Arvind and Pranav upped the attack and India headed into the second quarter with a nine-point lead. With five minutes to go for half-time, Indonesia cut the deficit to just six points. But three-pointers from Indian skipper Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Arvind kept Indonesia at bay. India went into half-time with a 15-point lead at 50-35. The third quarter was a cagey affair but Indian hoopsters managed to hold on to their lead.
Indian conceded some quick points in the fourth quarter and India’s lead was down to just 10 points, but Vishesh earned India a remarkable comeback with some assists and rebounds, to end the game at 90-74. Six basketball teams, India, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Syria are a part of the Asian leg of the Olympics pre-qualifiers tournament for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
India’s next match will be against world number 65 Kazakhstan on Monday, who do not have momentum by their side after their loss to Bahrain. Only the top team from the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Asia 2023 table will reach the final Olympic basketball qualifying tournament which will take place next year.