NAGPUR: Indian women will once again play in the lower division of Asia. Having failed to utilize the early advantage they managed to take for the first time in four games, Indian cagers were not only sent packing from the Asia Cup by Philippines, but they were also relegated from Asia's best eight teams.
Despite making a positive start in their must-win game at Jordan, Indian women lost the momentum after the change of ends to go down to Philippines 70-74.
In the classification game to identify the 7-8 position, Philippines shooting guards Ana Alicia Katrina Castillo and Janine Pontejos netted identical 22 points as India failed to defend and went down by four points. The quarter-wise progress for the winners read 13-19, 21-20, 21-13, 19-18.
With this heart-breaking loss, Indian girls will now play in the B division of Asia in the next edition in 2023, while Philippines maintain their position in the A division.
India's Serbian coach Zoran Visic said, "Third quarter was again the problem for us. We failed in offense and were unable to guard the two shooting guards from the Philippines. After losing the momentum in the crucial period, we tried to make a comeback but couldn't match."
Skipper Shireen Limaye said, "It's definitely heart-breaking. We have learnt a lot from these four games."
RESULT: Philippines (Ana Alicia Katrina Castillo 22, Janine Pontejos 22) bt India (Pushpa Senthil Kumar 15, Sathiya Senthil Kumar 12, Madhu Kumari 10, Shireen Limaye 10) 74-70 (13-19, 21-20, 21-13, 19-18)
