2013 FIBA Asia Championship: India lose to China 79-45

India lost their second game 79-45 against China in the second round of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship held at Manila, Philippines. India had lost their first game yesterday against Iran 102-58 and desperately needed a win.

China got the game underway with a 3-pointer from Shipeng Wang, but the Indians settled quickly as Narender Kumar Grewal rediscovered his scoring touch with 7 quick points in the first four minutes. Rikin Pethani started this game instead of Amritpal Singh, and he made his presence felt in the lane, grabbing some strong rebounds.

China on the other hand didn’t have a clear plan of attack and were unable to penetrate a tight Indian defence. They resorted to ball rotation to find the free man and take outside shots which worked to a certain extent. The game was neck and neck until India committed 2 turnovers to give China the lead in the first quarter, but they got into foul trouble which sent India to the line.

Amritpal Singh was brought into the game by Indian coach Scott Flemming to keep a tab on the Chinese players sneaking into the lane and force them to try their luck from the outside, but he was unable to assert his authority at the offensive end. The first quarter ended with Zhou Peng shooting a buzzer beating 3-pointer to give China a 22-14 lead.

China started the second quarter on a high note and raced away to a 14-point lead in the first four minutes. India was guilty of missing a number of shots in the paint and under the board. Had they made those shots, it would have been a very close contest. China were more organized in the second quarter and knew where each man was while the Indian defence fell apart at crucial moments.

India struggled to get going at the offensive end as well as they scored only 6 points in the second quarter. China had a 25 point lead at half-time with the score at 45-20.

India’s poor offence continued in the third quarter and they did not score until two-and-a-half minutes in. India had only scored 8 points in a 15-minute period. Meanwhile, China continued to score freely from inside and beyond the arc. They beat the Indian defence by repeatedly using the same move of fast penetration into the lane followed by a quick pass to the free man outside.

With the game rapidly slipping out of India’s hands, coach Flemming switched strategies and brought on Satnam Singh to ensure there were no easy baskets for China. But they still failed to convert shots or string more than three passes at a time.

While India depended on players like Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Grewal to keep the scoreboard ticking, China’s points were spread throughout the entire squad. The third quarter ended with China having a commanding 60-29 lead.

With the game almost won for China, they played their substitutes in the fourth quarter. But they still pressurized India with a full court press in defence. Although India got umpteen chances to score, it was just not their day as they failed to convert many chances which one just cannot miss in international tournaments.

India’s play in the post did show some promise with Satnam Singh and Amjyot Singh converting a few shots but it was too little, too late for India. China won the game comfortably and the final score read China 79-45 India.

India’s top scorers in the game were Amjyot Singh with 15 points followed by Grewal (9) and Amritpal Singh (9). Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, who had scored well in the previous games, was tightly marked and could only score 2 points. For China, Zhelin Wang was the top performer with 18 points, ably supported by Ailun Guo (16) and Zhizhi Wang (13).

India’s final game in the second round is against South Korea tomorrow.