FIBA Asia Championship 2015: India beat Hong Kong and inch closer to historic quarterfinals berth

Veteran Yadwinder Singh’s aggressive gameplay contributed to the victory

Battling a slow start and an off-night for one of its stars, the Indian senior men’s basketball team fought back, relying on role players to hold off a tenacious Hong Kong team, 76-71. With this win, and following Palestine’s loss to Japan, the South Asian giants are just a step away from progressing to the quarterfinals of the 28th FIBA Asia Championship for Men underway in Changsha, China, after a gap of 12 years.

Yet again, power forward Amjyot Singh was India's most efficient performer with 26 points and 12 rebounds, while veteran Yadwinder Singh had a stellar shooting performance off the bench.

Speaking about the game Yadwinder said, “Although we were trailing at the beginning, we were fully confident that we would win.” On his own offensive performance he said, “My focus has always been on defense but I found that our scoring was stuck, so I stepped up my aggression and it paid off.”

In their final second round match tomorrow, India plays Philippines, one of the top Asian sides, at 12:00 pm IST.

India (Amjyot Singh 26 pts, 12 rbs, 4 assts, & 3 blks, Yadwinder Singh 18 pts, 6 rbs, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 16 pts, 3 rbs, 4 stls, & 6 asts, Amritpal Singh 8 pts & 15 rbs) beat Hong Kong (C Wong, 21 pts & 10 rbs, S. Chan 17 pts & 4 rbs) 76-71 (14-19, 20-20, 19-17, 23-15)