Bengaluru: Hosts India secured their berth as top-seeds for the Division B quarter-finals with a convincing 88-42 win over hapless Sri Lanka in their final Group A fixture at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka entered this match on the back of a 78-39 loss to Uzbekistan on Monday, and got off to an ominous start, conceding six points without reply. Forward Grima Varghese dominated the early exchanges with eight points in the first quarter. India were up 23-10.
The second quarter virtually killed off the contest as the Indian eves only allowed three points to the Lionesses, whilst ratcheting up the scoreline to 40-13. Barkha Sonkar was instrumental in converting defence to attack with her mazy driving runs towards the Sri Lankan basket. The passing didn’t let her down either, with six assists to her name.
The lanky centre Poonam Chaturvedi was brought on to good effect in the second half, netting eight points whilst adding to India’s defensive solidity.
Sri Lanka’s abrasive play racked up the foul count, and Grima lapped up nine free throws from an attempted ten to finish with a double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds). India will now play Fiji in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Australia snap Japan streak
It was the marquee clash that everyone was waiting for, and it didn’t disappoint as Australia fashioned some of their best attacking basketball to defeat titans Japan 83-74.
The defeat ended Japan’s 17-match winning streak in Asian championships, stretching back to 2011.
The two teams were neck-to-neck until the second quarter when the Opals pulled away. Out with a calf strain on Monday, powerful centre Marianna Tolo was back to her lethal best with eight rebounds and 17 points.
Incredibly accurate long-range shooting from shooting forward Stephanie Cumming and guard Katie-Rae Ebzery contributed 18 points to the tally.
For the Akatsuki Five, guards Manami Fujioka and Yuki Miyazawa stood out with their pace and verve, netting 18 and 19 points respectively.
“We didn’t lose the game today, they won it. There’s a difference,” Japan coach Tom Hovasse said. The Opals made a clean sweep of Group B and are top-seeds for the quarter-finals, whilst Japan lie second.
Earlier, New Zealand made it two on the spin in a come-from-behind win over Chinese Taipei. A vintage performance from shooting forward Jillian Harmon and a double-double from 22 year-old Kalani Purcell (22 points, 13 rebounds) stole a 59-53 victory for the Tal Ferns. China topped Group A with a 110-53 mauling of DPR Korea.
Results: Division B: Group A: India: 88 (Grima Merlin Varghese 20, Anitha Paul Durai 13) bt Sri Lanka 42 (Dapana Durage 9)
Division A: Group A: New Zealand 59 (Kalani Purcell 22, Jillian Harmon 15) bt Chinese Taipei 53 (Hsi-Le Bao 12). China 110 (Yueru Li 33, Song Gao 14, Sijing Huang 12, Xufeng Shi 12) bt North Korea 53 (Ro Suk Yong 20, Ri Jong Ok 11)
Group B: Australia 83 (Marianna Tolo 17, Kelsey Griffin 16, Sara Blicavs 12, Katie-Rae Ebzery 11) bt Japan 74 (Yuki Miyazawa 19, Manami Fujioka 18, Yuka Osaki 10, Maki Takada 10);
South Korea 91 (Danbi Kim 19, Jisu Park 15, Yung Hui Lim 13, Han Byui Kim 11, Sim Sungyoung 10) bt Philippines 63 (Allana Lim 14, Analyn Almazan 12, Janine Pontejos 10).
Division B: Group A: India vs Sri Lanka Group B: Kazakhstan 71 (Oxana Ossipenko 21, Tamara Yagodkina 16, Nadezhda Kondrakova 13) bt Fiji 48 (Bulou Koyamainavure 28); Lebanon vs Singapore.
Quarter-final line-up: Division A: Australia vs DPR Korea, New Zealand vs Korea, Chinese Taipei vs Japan, China vs Philippines
