India thrashed Singapore 79-49 to record their third win on the trot in the 2018 FIBA Asia Women’s Under-18 basketball championships at Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.
Gulabsha Ali scored 21 points for the hosts as they kept their winning streak alive against a hapless Singapore outfit in Division B.
India raced off to a 20-3 lead in the first quarter and the Singaporeans couldn’t recover from the early damage. They did better to make the score 38-25 at half-time. But the hosts surged to a 63-36 lead in the penultimate quarter’s end. India scored 16 more points in the last quarter to cruise to the semis.
Meanwhile, in Division A, Korea Republic and Japan entered the semi-finals and qualified for the World Cup with stunning wins.
Korea Republic, in a Group A game, stunned Australia 63-62 for their third win on the trot. And, Japan shocked holders China 94-79 to make the last four from Group B. In the bargain, both teams qualified for the 2019 World Cup women’s Under-19 basketball championships to be held in Thailand.
Korea Republic beat fancied Australia in a nail-biting Group A encounter. Sohee Lee, with 21 points, seven assists and six steals, was Korea’s star performer.
In another Group A match, Chinese Taipei defeated Indonesia 99-54.
Group B threw up the biggest surprise of the evening with Japan beating China. Layla Takehara, playing a total of 22.06 minutes of the match and shooting guard Norika Konno (on the court for 21.7 minutes), were Japan’s star performers. Japan were able to launch super-fast counters leaving the Chinese stranded and scrambling. The ploy worked wonderfully in the final quarter when Japan trailed by seven points at 48-55. They unleashed a torrent of electrifying moves to exert tremendous pressure in a full-court press.
New Zealand outplayed hapless Malaysia 99-32 in another Group B match.