At the Five Nation Championship, Bhutan created history when the senior men’s national basketball team defeated Bangladesh to win the country’s first ever trophy. Last night was the game’s time. Bhutan won the tense championship match in the Maldives by rallying from a deficit late in the game. Thousands of Bhutanese fans from their home countries witnessed the game.
Bhutan got things started right away, scoring the game’s first goal in the first period. As the teams battled for position, the game became more intense.
Bhutan jumped out to a 10-point lead in the second quarter thanks to their quickness and accurate passing. In the third period, Bhutan continued to rule, keeping the game moving at both ends of the court.
But in the fourth quarter, Bangladesh upped their offensive game, taking advantage of mistakes and Bhutan’s foul problems. Bhutan’s advantage was only one point with 21 seconds left. When there were barely 11 seconds left in the game, Bangladesh took advantage of a foul to go up 60-59. Bhutan secured the victory by two points with a pivotal layup and free throw with practically no time remaining.
“It feels awesome, it feels wonderful. It is a feeling I cannot describe. I think I will take around a week to let this feeling sink in. We didn’t give up. Even in the dying seconds when they took the lead, we were saying we need to give it our all; this is a lifetime opportunity. So we didn’t give up. That’s the greatest thing about my team. We don’t give up easily. Easily, five to six years, the same team can go on. I think it is the start of something amazing,” said Rinchen Dorji, Captain.
Meanwhile, the historic moment was relished with pride and delight throughout the country as the people back home watched the nail-biting match live.
“I didn’t even think Bhutan would win. Since I play basketball too, the match made me very anxious. But it was fun to watch it with my family,” said Ugyen Tobgay, a basketball fan.
“With my family, I watched the basketball game yesterday. Sonam Thinley Jamtsho, another basketball enthusiast, stated, “I was extremely thrilled because I adore basketball.
“Bhutan winning yesterday was unexpected. I’m delighted Bhutan prevailed. It increased my appreciation of basketball. When I’m older, I want to play basketball for a living, declared Dorji T Dendup.
“In the third quarter, I predicted Bhutan would lose. Then I began to believe Bhutan would triumph in the fourth period. The game was incredibly thrilling. Even my parents were jubilant, Sonam Choki said.
The group will enter the nation tomorrow. Following their arrival, the team will bring the trophy to the of the Basketball Federation of Bhutan, where a celebration will take place.
(WITH INPUT SOURCE)
