Bangladesh runners-up

The Bangladesh under-16 basketball team followed in their elders' footsteps by emerging runners-up in the South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) U-16 Championship, which concluded in Kathmandu yesterday.

The senior Bangladesh team had finished second in the regional competition four months ago by winning their matches against Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Maldives before losing the deciding match against India.

This time too, Bangladesh finished behind eventual champions India. Bangladesh had won their opening match against Bhutan by 117-42 points before losing against India by 83-64 points. The boys in red and green then edged hosts Nepal by 68-56 points before thrashing Maldives by 107-52 points in their last match on Friday. India won all four of their matches to emerge unbeaten champions, thereby sealing the lone spot for the FIBA U-16 Asian Championship.