India advanced to the 2015 Fiba Asia Championships on Tuesday after Iran snuffed out Palestine’s hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals with an unceremonious 94-48 thrashing.
The Indians fell heavily to the Philippines in their own Tuesday finale to second-round group play, 99-65, but the match was a dead rubber by then thanks to India’s three-point win over the Palestinians on Saturday.
India added a crucial second win on Sunday against Hong Kong, another tight contest, 76-71. The wins together breathed life into a flailing campaign to reach the last eight of the tournament. It’s the first progression to the stage for India since 2003, and will offer a chance to reach the semi-finals for only the second time, the first since 1975.
The team were led over the weekend by breakout Chandigarh player Amjyot Singh, a 23-year-old, 6ft 8in (2.03m) wing. He scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the critical win over Palestine, then followed it up with 26 and 12 in defeating Hong Kong.
Singh, before Tuesday, was the tournament’s leading scorer, averaging 25.4 points per game while shooting 46.6 per cent from the field. He had 11 points and five rebounds in the loss to the Philippines.
India, the last of Group E’s four entrants to qualify, are likely to face runaway group F leaders, the tournaments hosts and favourites China. The Chinese will look to wrap up a perfect group campaign later on Tuesday against Qatar.
With Tuesday’s early action, Group E is complete with Iran, as group winners, qualifying for the quarter-finals alongside Philippines and Japan before India. Along with Palestine, Hong Kong made their exit on Tuesday.
The Palestinians made the tournament for the first time ever this year, and started on a high with a shocking upset of the Filipinos. They won their first-round group with a perfect 3-0 start, also defeating Hong Kong and Kuwait. They could not maintain the momentum, though, losing all three of their second-round group matches. Two Palestinians, Sani Sakakini and Jamal Abu Shamala, leave as among the top five scorers in the tournament, with 21.5 and 20.5 points per game respectively, up to this point.
West Asia champions Lebanon need to defeat Jordan in their later match to survive through. China, Qatar and South Korea are safe already, with Kazakhstan eliminated.
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