Indian cagers make positive start in SABA Qualifiers

New Delhi: The Indian men's basketball team made a positive start to their campaign in the 3x3 SABA Qualifiers 2015 by beating Sri Lanka Blues 20-10 at Gateway College in Colombo Saturday.

Grouped in Pool B, the young Indian cagers began strongly with a comfortable win in their opening encounter, but lost to Sri Lanka Red 14-21 in the middle game before bouncing back with a huge 21-4 win over Colombo Avant BC.

"Playing for our country gives us the greatest pride. We are new to the international level and learning the right way of playing at this level. We need to pull up our socks and focus on the upcoming games," said India guard Siddhant Shinde after the conclusion of the day's matches.

India will face Nepal tomorrow in their last league match, and hope to win the encounter in order to qualify for the semi-finals.

With their current 2-1 record, India is placed second behind Colombo Sri Lanka Reds (3-0) and above Kathmandu Nepal (2-1), Colombo Sri Lanka Blues (1-3) and Colombo Avant BC (0-3).