Gritty Indians pull off a stunner

Hosts India staged a superb comeback to overcome a physically superior Kazakhstan and reclaim their spot among the continent’s elite in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup.

Egged on by a deafening cheer from a jam-packed crowd at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here, India edged the Kazakhs 75-73 in the hard-fought Division B final on Saturday.   

The Zoran Visic-coached side will ply trade in Division A of the competition next edition in 2019.

Thrilled by the victory, forward Shireen Limaye, who had her parents watching from the stands said, “I am speechless. I didn’t know that I was going to play that well and till the second quarter. We didn’t know that we were going to win the match. But I am really happy that we won it.”

With the scores tied at 73-73 and three seconds left in the clock, forward Shireen took it upon herself and produced the winning jump shot that sent the home crowd into raptures.

On being asked what went through her mind in those dying moments, Shireen said she chose to take a gamble. “I saw the clock, three seconds were left. I had to do something because everyone was expecting me to strike as I had the momentum going. Then I took the shot which went in. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Forward Jeena Skaria again proved her worth, top-scoring for India with 20 points, collecting six rebounds and providing four assists while Shireen contributed 17 points, six assists and 10 rebounds. Grima Merlin Varghese and Raspreet Sidhu too made their presence felt with 14 and 13 points respectively.

For Kazakhstan, centre Nadezhda Kondrakova emerged as the top performer. She scored a game-high 30 points and hauled 18 rebounds. Power forward Zalina Kurasova scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Kazakhs led for a major part of the game but were left wanting when it mattered. The persistent jeering from the crowd also added to their woes, causing them to miss free throws at crucial junctures.

K Govindraj, president of the Basketball Federation of India, announced a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh for the victorious Indians.

Japan champions

In Division A, defending champions Japan exacted revenge for their 2016 Rio Olympics defeat with a fighting 74-73 win over Australia.

Shooting guard Saki Mizushima starred for the Akatsuki Five, top-scoring with 26 points while Yuki Miyazawa, continued her scintillating form and recorded 17 points and seven rebounds.

The Opals forward Kelsey Michelle Griffin, who was adjudged the tournament’s Most Valuable player (MVP), top-scored with 30 points. She also grabbed 10 rebounds. China finished third while North Korea is relegated to Division B.

Results: Division A: Final: Japan: 74 (Saki Mizushima 26, Yuki Miyazawa 11, Moeko Nagaoka 10) bt Australia: 73 (Kelsey Griffin 30, Marianna Tolo 13)

Third place playoff: China: 75 (Sijing Huang 16, Li Yueru 16) bt South Korea: 51 (Jisu Park 14, Leeseul Kang 13).

Classification games: 5th-6th: Chinese Taipei: 65 (Hsi-Le Bao 10, Ping-Jen Huang 10) bt New Zealand: 45 (Micaela Cocks 10)

7th-8th: Philippines: 78 (Allana May Lim 16, Analyn Almazan 13, Cindy Resultay 10, Jack Danielle Animam 10) bt North Korea: 63 (Mi Hyang Kim 20, Suk Yong Ro 17, Hyang Kim 13).

Final standings: Japan, 1; Australia, 2;  China, 3; South Korea, 4; Chinese Taipei, 5; New Zealand, 6; Philippines, 7; North Korea, 8.

Division B: Final: India: 75 (Jeena Skaria 20, Shireen Limaye 17, Grima Merlin 14, Raspreet Sidhu 13) bt Kazakhstan: 73 (Nadezhda Kondrakova 30, Zalina Kurazova 17).
Third-place playoff: Lebanon: 59 (Rebecca Akl 20, Chirine El Charif 10) bt Uzbekistan: 55 (Elena Khusnitdinova 22)

Classification games: 5th-6th: Singapore: 80 (Zhi Lim 26, Cheryl Poon 11) bt Fiji: 65 (Mili Koyamainavure 31, Dale Wise 15).

Final standings: India, 1; Kazakhstan, 2; Lebanon, 3; Uzbekistan, 4; Singapore, 5; Fiji, 6.