Bengaluru, Friday, 9th September 2022: India has been relegated to Division B of the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship following a 48-45 loss to Indonesia.
Yet another slow start
For the second straight game, there was heartbreak in store for the hosts, at the premier continental event underway at Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
Both yesterday against New Zealand and today against Indonesia, India lost by a mere 3 points.
In what has now become an unfortunate pattern, India started slow off the blocks, allowing Indonesia to take a 17-5 first quarter lead.
Unlikely second quarter hero
Matters turned to the worse when India’s starting centre Manmeet Kaur hurt her ankle early in the second quarter and had to be carried out of the game by her teammates.
With Manmeet - India’s primary scorer in the half court – temporarily out of the picture, it appeared as if there was no way India would be able to put points on the board and mount a comeback.
That’s when India found an unlikely bailout package in Karanveer Kaur, a backup shooting guard, who hit three three pointers in the period.
India still trailed 22-27 going into the halftime break, but the momentum had started visibly swinging in India’s direction.
The third quarter was all India, with its perimeter defense led by Sathya Krishnamurthi who recorded an impressive 7 steals. A 19-11 penultimate frame saw India finally take the lead, 41-38, with one quarter of play left.
Indonesia’s game winning dagger
While its defense remained top notch, India struggled to score in the period, managing only 4 points in the entire quarter. With only five seconds remaining and the scores tied at 45, Manmeet Kaur was called for a turnover. Indonesia immediately opted for a timeout to ensure the ball moves up to the frontcourt, and to draw up a last ditch quick trigger out-of-bounds play.
Indonesia’s top scorer Vanissa Siregar obliged with a game winning banked three pointer that sent her side into delirium.
Courtesy this victory, Indonesia maintains its spot in elite Division A (featuring the top eight teams from Asia-Oceania) for the next edition of the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship, while winless India has been demoted back to lower Division B.
India (Karanveer Kaur 15 pts; Nitika Amuthan 12 pts; Bhumika Singh 10 reb) lose to Indonesia (Vanissa Renata Siregar 14 pts; Angelica Jennifer Candra 13 reb) 45-48 [5-17, 17-10, 19-11, 4-10]