Indian origin cagers create history on American soil

NAGPUR: In a historic first two Indian origin cagers – Sim Bhullar and Satnam Singh – faced-off in an NBA-affiliated game at the Dr Pepper Arena in Texas on Saturday.
The NBA Development League game between Raptors 905 – of which Bhullar is a part – and Texas Legends – who have Singh in their ranks – saw the two strapping Indian origin slug it out against one another.
While Sim powered out a double-double to lead the Raptors past the home team 136-80, Singh was at his defensive best and showed signs of improvement in his first professional start in the US.
Sim — in his second D-League season — drew the first blood with a dunk in the 7th minute. Though Satnam took 26 minutes to score his first basket, the 7-foot-2 center pulled three offensive and as many defensive rebounds.
In his 22-minute presence on the court Satnam scored six points while Sim's 25-minute stay saw the 7-foot-5 center contribute 13 points with 10 rebounds. The contest was witnessed by as many as 6162 spectators, most of them from the Indian community in Texas.
In the first meeting of the two franchises, Raptors 905 took off to an early lead and never looked back. Scoring 64% to the Legends’ 37%, the visitors built up a 37-point halftime lead. They continued their aggressive play after the break to record a facile victory.
Eight Raptors players scored in double digits. The Mississauga club's 78 first-half points also marked a franchise record for points in a half, topping the previous best of 71, registered on December 19 against Delaware.