India defeated Kazakhstan in a closely fought encounter at the FIBA U-16 Championship with valuable contributions from Malayalis Vimmy and Mayuka T.K.
India defeated Kazakhstan 84-71 to finish fifth and remain in Level 1 of the FIBA Asia U-16 championship in Colombo.
Kerala girl Vimmy Varkey converted all four of her free throws in the final 30 seconds as the game slipped out of reach for Kazakhstan.
The game was a must win for India as even after victory over Malaysia it had to finish fifth in the final standings to retain its position in the first tier of the championship.
It is the second time the Indian U-16 girls have managed to remain in the top flight and along with Vimmy, another Kerala girl Mayuka K.T. gave valuable contributions in the final game.
India managed to take control of the first quarter, with a 6 point lead though it was all square at half time with Kazakhstan clinching the second quarter 22-16.
However, the third clearly belonged to India as the girls bagged a crucial 11 point lead to finish at 62-51 going into the final break.
For India, Riya Verma top scored with 24 points.
Head Coach Biju D Themman from Kottayam gave full credit to his girls for showing the right temperament in a crucial game.
“All the credit goes to the girls as they have worked hard for two months preparing for this championship.
They did a wonderful job in executing the game plan,” said Biju.
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