India managed to qualify for his or her 10th straight FIBA Asia Cup after a 14 level comeback towards Palestine and an help from Saudi Arabia, who beat Palestine to assist India by. After struggling an 80-61 defeat to Saudi Arabia on Friday in Group H of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifying Event, India’s possibilities of qualifying to subsequent yr’s FIBA Asia Cup appeared very slim.
India wanted to not solely win towards Palestine but in addition wished Saudi to beat them of their match on Sunday. All of it labored out effectively for the Indian workforce as they grew to become the 15th workforce to guide their ticket to the 16-nation FIBA Asia Cup subsequent yr by ending second in Group H.
How the sport performed out
A sluggish begin to the sport meant that India was enjoying from behind for many of the 40 minutes towards Palestine. India was outscored 25-13 within the first quarter and trailed by the largest margin within the second quarter when Palestine took a 14 level lead. Nevertheless, the Indian males didn’t hand over, and heading into the ultimate quarter India stored it shut however have been nonetheless behind by 9 and that’s once they put their foot on the pedal and outscored Palestine 27-16 to win 79-77.
Amritpal Singh, was India’s high scorer with 30 factors whereas additionally grabbing 12 rebounds. Former NBA G Leaguer Amjyot Singh racked the stat sheet along with his 23 factors, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists. Joginder Singh was additionally one of many Indians to attain within the double digits scoring all of his 12 from past the three-point arc. India went from an 0-of-10 begin to pulling down seven of their remaining 13 3-point makes an attempt led by Joginder.
Sahaij Pratap Singh Sekhon was the activate the bench but once more and his contribution to the match was way more than what his stats learn, seven factors, two rebounds, and two assists however his impression was proven by his plus-minus of +14, which was second solely to Joginder’s +15.
Kyndall Dykes, Palestine’s beginning guard, completed with game-high tallies of 32 factors and 10 assists, Sekhon’s defence on Dykes – particularly within the second quarter – performed an enormous position in India’s comeback particularly after the latter began off with 12 factors within the first quarter.
The complete listing of 15 groups to have certified for subsequent yr’s Asia Cup is as follows – Indonesia, Lebanon, Bahrain, Philippines, Korea, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Iran, Syria, Jordan, and Kazakhstan.