CHENNAI, Aug 11: India made a very interesting tactical move in the second half, when they shifted from half-court pressure to zone, a form of defence which is obsolete in international basketball, in their Group B league match of the Golden Eagle International Invitational Championship. But the move, made after gauging Sri Lanka, four from whose squad took part in the Chennai SAF Games, paid off as it exposed their opponents' inept outside shooting which saw the host nation coast to a comfortable 93-54 victory at the Dr J Jayalalitha Indoor Complex on Monday.

But the first half ran close with the swift and sharp Lankan forwards driving in with elan through the none-too-tight Indian defence, while the Lankan centres, Amunugama and Wickramanayaka, double marked India's tower of strength, Paraminder Singh (Sr), the 6 feet, 10 inch centre, affectionately known as `Happy'. India trailed 33-40 at break. But the second half fizzled out, with the Lankans unable to break through the tight zone defence. And with no outside shooting to prop them and their stamina too giving way, `Happy' had a whale of time, pumping in most of the 32 points he scored, including a double-hand dunk.

TN ROUT BANGLADESH: In the inaugural match of the six-day championship, National champions Tamil Nadu warmed up with a 131-73 win over Bangladesh in a Group A match, forcing one to wonder if they ever had such an easy encounter even in the National Championship !

Results - Group A: Tamil Nadu 131 (Kannabiran 17, Shivashankar 10, Sridhar 15, Prabhakaran 11, Suganeswaran 15) bt Bangladesh 73 (Titu 20, Maibub 18) HT: 71-24.

Group B: India 93 (Gagnesh Kumar 10, Paraminder Singh Jr 14, Paraminder Singh Sr 32, Ashok Kumar 20) bt Sri Lanka 54 (F J Mohamad 11, KGSR De Silva 11). HT: 40-33.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.