NAGPUR: Failing to get into the groove in the early part of the game, the spirited bunch of Indian hoopsters lost to the higher ranked Kazakhstan - their first defeat - in FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament Asia in Damascus, Syria, on Monday. Unlike the two back-to-back victories where India dominated the first quarter, they failed to find early baskets as world No. 65 Kazakhstan recorded a three-point (73-70) victory.
Despite a poor start, the 82nd ranked Indians fought their way back and regained the advantage with a 16-0 run in the third quarter. But they fell short in the thrilling contest, where the lead changed hands as many as 16 times.
While India's offensive revolution was sparked by Arvind Muthu Krishnan's 18-point game-high effort, the 16 turnovers as against Kazakhstan's 12 cost them the game for their first loss in the six-team tournament.
Though India out-rebounded Kazakhstan 42-38, scored more fast-break points while stealing the ball, and recorded a better shooting percentage, their passive play while taking the attempts cost them the game. As compared to Kazakhstan's 144 shots at the hoop, India made just 118 attempts.
After failing to find the hoop, India lost the first quarter 16-19, but came back stronger to win the second period 20-18 as Kazakhstan took a marginal 37-36 lead at half time.
Pic credit: FIBA
Much like the start, India failed to defend after the change of ends as Kazakhstan recorded a 11-0 run to take a 12-point (50-38) lead in the third quarter. For the next five minutes a dominant show from Indian cagers helped them score 16 unanswered points and take a handy four-point (54-50) lead to end the third quarter on a high.
The exciting fourth period saw a neck-and-neck battle with frequent lead changes. With India committing some sloppy turnovers and missing quick baskets in the dying stages, Kazakhstan took control of the proceedings in the last two minutes to win the clash 73-70.
With eight seconds remaining, the experienced Amjyot Singh, who got a total floor-time of just six minutes, was introduced. Though Amjyot took the baseline attempt from behind the arc to bring parity, he missed the three-point attempt with two seconds remaining.
In a chat with TOI, India's Serbian head coach Veselin Matic said, "Young players have no experience, and senior players are physically not that ready for this competition. After the boost by the two wins, now comes the anxiety, which I had tried to explain. Our next opponents, Saudi Arabia, is a very good team, and it will be a difficult game again, since our senior players are not performing as per our expectations."
Matic added, "Most important now is to analyze our mistakes, decide how we will do better than earlier. Today, the beginning was terrible. After that we were a bit better, but we had a problem of mismatch in physical ability of seniors and young players. On our day of rest, we will watch videos and prepare for the game against Saudi Arabia."
Basketball Federation of India's youngest president Aadhav Arjuna, who was following the action, said, "Team India has shown champion spirit yet again against Kazakhstan in this hard-fought game. They gave their best till the last second of the game. They showed that they could give a tough fight and even win against a 65th-ranked team with determination. I am sure they will work even harder and bounce back in the next match."
Amjyot said, "We lacked as a team on defence and offence but we will come back stronger."
On Wednesday, India will square up against Saudi Arabia, who posted their first win in the competition when they stunned Indonesia 86-72.
RESULT: Kazakhstan (Ivanov Vladimir 19, Pan Robert 13) bt India (Arvind Kumar Muthu Krishnan 18, Palpreet Singh Brar 13, Pranav Prince 11, Sahaij Sekhon 9) 73-70 (19-16, 18-20, 13-18, 23-16)
