Nepal defeated tournament minnows Maldives 103-41 in their last round robin league match of the SABA U-16 Boys’ Basketball Championship to finish third in the tournament on Saturday.

The hosts finished with six points with two wins and as many defeats in an event that also awarded a point to the losing side. Tournament favourites India completed the formality by clinching the title to remain unbeaten throughout the tournament and qualified for the fifth Asian U-16 Basketball to be held in Malaysia in October. Only the winners were guaranteed a place in October’s event in Malaysia.

Bangladesh ended up second having only lost to India and accumulated seven points. Bhutan, who had beaten Maldives, finished fourth with the Maldivians returning home winless.

After crashing to a humiliating 106-39 defeat at the hands of India on Friday, the match gave an opportunity for Nepal to salvage some pride and they got off to a flying start taking a 30-10 lead in the first half. The match reached beyond Maldives’ reach as Nepal added another 31 points in the second quarter and restricted the opponents to four for a huge 46-point lead. Nepal continued to dominate after the break and took the next two quarters 19-12, 23-15.

Gelchen Sherpa contributed highest 25 points for Nepal while Abhishek Singh, the highest scorer for home team in previous three matches, tossed in 20 points. In the earlier matches, Nepal had beaten Bhutan 96-38 and lost to Bangladesh 68-57.

India, meanwhile, had another easy ride in the tournament crushing Bhutan 131-50 in their last league game. Tournament MVP Prince Pal Singh contributed 20 points for India. India made a dominating start leading the first quarter 40-7 and never looked back in the game.