Bengaluru: China produced a power-packed display to defeat Japan 89-76 in the division A finals of the FIBA U-18 Women's Asian Championship which concluded at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium held here on Saturday.
It was China's 16th title and fifth in a row whereas Japan was again on the losing side for the fifth consecutive time. Australia bagged the bronze medal in the division A defeating Korea 75-58. China and Japan dished out a veritable feast for the packed stadium. Their pace and agility had the crowd gasping for breath. Some splendid down the flank attacks and driving through the middle enthralled the spectators. Coupled with this field play was their excellent shooting skills.
Apart from the accurate long shots, they also managed to dip the ball into the net with their swirling lobs. The ball would dance on the rip, bounce to the side and then dip into the delight of their supporters. It was vintage basketball no doubt. While Japan tended to be one paced and believed in keeping up a good flow, their tendency to find the basket at full speed saw them miss a few of them. China was the more organized and had the ability to control the pace. They were a lot more composed and that saw them finish off their moves a lot better.
India trounce Kazakhstan in Div B
India coasted to an easy 68-45 victory over Kazakhstan to win Division B and earn promotion to Division A for the next edition of the FIBA Asia Women’s (Under-18) basketball championships in 2020.
Harshitha Bopaian, the local dyes Vidyanagar girl, was once again the star of the show sinking 20 baskets and fetching 13 rebounds as the Indians began on a rather circumspect note but gained in confidence with each passing minute to decimate their rivals. Pushpa Senthil Kumar and Darshini Thirunavukkarasu combining well and setting up Harshitha with well-timed lay-ups, the Indians were all over the courts as Kazakhstan tried hard to defend.But Harshitha and Senthil produced wonderful shots from inside the outside the paint to enable India keep increasing their lead all along. Harshitha had seven field goals and seven two-pointers to rub it in as a vociferous crowd cheered the Indians on.It was only in the final quarter that Kazakhstan managed to narrow the lead but by then the Indians played at a relaxed pace and had the game under total control.
