Maldives: Continuing their winning spree, India defeated Nepal 90-44 in the fifth edition of the South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Championship and completed a historic five-peat here on Tuesday.
Playing their fourth and final round robin encounter, defending champs India dominated Nepal right from the start and earned yet another victory.
India made the most of their body size advantage against the diminutive Nepal players and scored most points in the paint while opening a 19-point lead in the very first quarter.
India's veteran shooting guard Vishesh Bhriguvanshi continued his scoring spree as he tallied 22 points in the encounter.
Shooting guard Anil Kumar BK also chipped in with 16 points off the bench.
The second half of the game saw young players Jeevanatham Pandi, Muin Bek and Vishal Kumar Gupta get some valuable playing time.
Pandi made the most of this opportunity by using his stature to grab offensive rebounds and score 12 points for the team.
For Nepal, Ashim Shrestha was the leading scorer with nine points as shooters struggled against India's zone defence.
With this result, India have now ensured qualification for the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon from August 8 to 20, and the FIBA Asia Champions Cup.
