FIBA Asia Championship Day 4: India lose close contest to Thailand

Action from the FIBA Asia Championships

The Indian women’s team came out on Day 4 of the 26th FIBA Asia Women’s Championship 2015 searching for their first win of the tournament, facing Thailand on Tuesday.

Captain Anitha Paul Durai and India’s most consistent player of the tournament, Jeena Skaria, led the way for their team on the offensive end. Paul Durai played every minute of the game and contributed 14 points along with 9 rebounds. Skaria ended up a game high for both teams of 21 points. For Thailand, forwards Naphat Kruatiwa and Thidaporn Maihom were the main contributors. Kruatiwa put up 21 points while Maihom had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

In a close game that came down to the final seconds, India lost the game by 2 points 63 to 65. Despite the loss, there were a lot of positives for India in this game to build upon. India outrebounded Thailand 49 to 36, which included 14 offensive rebounds. India’s Smruthi Radhakrishnan was the leading rebounder among players on both teams with 12 rebounds. India also improved on their free throw shooting, converting at a rate of close to 74% in this game.

India’s final Group A game will be against Korea tomorrow.

Thailand (Naphat Kruatiwa 21, Thidaporn Maihom 19, K. Phetsaenkha 9) bt India (Jeena Skaria 21, Anitha Paul Durai 14, Bhandavya Mahesha 10) 65-63 (21-14, 14-17, 13-17, 17-15)