Sri Lanka vs Palestine

Palestine dismantled Sri Lanka 121-63 at Baluan Sholak Sport Palace in Almaty on Thursday, extending their perfect head-to-head record against the Sri Lankans to 3-0 across all FIBA competitions.

How It Unfolded

Both teams entered this Group B clash on the back of convincing opening-day wins — Sri Lanka had beaten Maldives 107-65 and Palestine had defeated Kyrgyzstan 110-69 on Wednesday. But Thursday's meeting was far more one-sided.

Palestine asserted control early and never relented, piling up 121 points against a Sri Lankan defence that had conceded only 65 to Maldives a day earlier. The WABA side's firepower proved too deep and too efficient, with the final margin of 58 points reflecting a gulf in class that has characterised this fixture historically. Palestine's previous wins over Sri Lanka were by 55 (129-74 in 2021), 42 (102-60 in 2020) and 62 points (112-50 in 2018).

Quarter-by-quarter breakdowns were not available from official channels at the time of writing.

The Turning Point

Palestine's opening surge. Having needed time to find their rhythm against Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday, Palestine started sharply against Sri Lanka. Once they established a double-digit lead in the first half, Sri Lanka — who relied heavily on Supun Athapaththu's 39-point eruption against Maldives — had no answer to Palestine's defensive pressure and transition scoring.

Key Performers

• Omar Suleiman — the top scorer from Palestine's opening game (23 pts vs Kyrgyzstan) was again central to the attack.
• Tamer Habash — contributed 16 points in the opening day win and maintained his influence.
• Supun Athapaththu Mudiyanselage — Sri Lanka's most dangerous weapon, though he faced far tighter defence than he did against Maldives. His 39-point, 14/17 shooting performance from Wednesday set expectations that Palestine's defence worked hard to contain.

By the Numbers

Palestine's 121 points mark the second time in three head-to-head meetings they have cracked the 120-point barrier against Sri Lanka. The 58-point margin is consistent with the average winning margin (53 points) across their three previous encounters. Sri Lanka's 63 points was their lowest total against Palestine, worse than their 60-point haul in 2020 and 50 in 2018.

What It Means

Both teams are now 2-0 in Group B after their opening-day wins and this result. The top two teams from the group advance to the Asia Cup Pre-Qualification Second Round. Kazakhstan and Maldives, the other two teams in Group B, have one game each remaining in this window. Sri Lanka next face hosts Kazakhstan, while Palestine take on Maldives. Dates for those fixtures have not been confirmed by FIBA at the time of writing.

Verdict

Palestine's superiority over Sri Lanka is emphatic and historical. Three meetings, three wins by an average of 53 points. Sri Lanka's hopes of advancing rest on beating Kazakhstan and hoping the tiebreakers fall their way, but this result leaves little doubt about which team is the stronger in Group B.