Tournament final. Score tied. Last play of the match. Fate of the championship in your hands. This is stuff of basketball dreams. Shireen Limaye got to live the dream, and awoke with tears of joy.
In the FIBA women’s Asia Cup final, against Kazakhstan, the two sides were locked at 73-73, with 21 seconds remaining. Shireen ran the final play almost all on her own, made some space for herself, and took a 20-foot jump-shot. The ball sailed through the air and hit the bottom of the net. The clock ran out, and Shireen collapsed to the floor.
The huge, vocal Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium crowd absolutely erupted. That magic moment gave India the Division B title and booked the National team an elite Division A spot in the next edition.
The victory was made all the more special because the host looked lost in the first three-quarters. The taller, stronger, fitter Kazakh players dominated the offensive and defensive rebound stats. At the start of the fourth-quarter, the visitor led 58-50, and seemed in complete control.
India started the final period with energy, with P.S. Jeena (20 points), Grima Merlin (14 points) and Shireen scoring quick buckets. The noise got louder and this got the Kazakh hoopsters on a knife’s edge. Easy layups were missed, and turnovers came in plenty. The team eventually crumbled under pressure, and watched the trophy slip from their grasp.
Japan pips Australia
In a similarly nail-biting finish, Japan defeated Australia 74-73 in the Division A summit clash.
BFI, meanwhile, announced a cash award of ₹10 lakh for the Indian team.
The results: Division A: Japan 74 (Mizushima Saki 26, Miyazawa Yuki 11, Nagaoka Moeka 10) bt Australia 73 (Griffin Kelsey 30, Marianna Tolo 13). Division B: Final: India 73 (P.S. Jeena 20, Shireen Limaye 17, Grima Merlin 14, Raspeet Sidhu 13) bt Kazakhstan 71 (Kondrakova Nadezhda 30, Zalina Kurazova 17).
Most Valuable Player: Kelsey Griffin (Australia)
Final standings: Division A: 1. Japan, 2. Australia, 3. China, 4. South Korea, 5. Chinese Taipei, 6. New Zealand, 7. Philippines, 8. North Korea (relegated). Division B: 1. India (promoted), 2. Kazakhstan, 3. Lebanon, 4. Uzbekistan, 5. Singapore, 6. Fiji.