India rise as Thailand eye top spot
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Gritty India tasted the victory for the first time in the 25th FIBA Asia Championship for Women, but were made to work hard against stubborn Kazakhstan for a 65-62 overtime win in their final Level I match at Thai-Japan Youth Welfare Centre yesterday.
Although the match featured two sides without a win from all four of their matches so far, it was significant for their position in the standings.
The fight was for fifth place in the six-team division and a seemingly easier task against Level II’s eventual second-placed team in the promotion/relegation play-off tomorrow.
It was a predictably tight battle between two sides only five places apart in the world rankings, with the lead changing several times.
The 40th-ranked Indians should have won the game in regulation time when Paul Anitha sank a jumper to put her team 55-53 up with only eight seconds remaining. But Kazakhstan’s Yelena Dots kept her nerves with two free throws to force extra time, before the South Asian nation prevailed to record their first win.
With defending champions China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan already assured places in the next round, the outcome of yesterday’s final Level I fixtures decided which teams finished where.
In Level II, hosts and world No 43 Thailand bounced back from their first loss of the campaign against the Philippines to record a third win in four matches with a 75-61 victory over Indonesia on Wednesday.
The win put the Thais in prime position to clinch top spot in the second-tier division. Should the hosts secure a win in their final group match against bottom side Hong Kong, due last night as expected, they would finish first and go up against the Kazakhs in tomorrow’s play-off tie. Malaysia were likely to finish in the second spot after they beat Uzbekistan 63-41. They will take on the Indians, with a spot in the top tier at stake.
