FIBA Asia Championship: India Defeat Hong Kong, on Verge of Quarter-final Entry
India to face Philippines in last match of second round. If India enter quarter-final, it will be the first time in the 12 years that the team has gone this far.
Battling a slow start, India came from behind to hold off a pesky Hong Kong 76-71 in the 28th FIBA Asia Championship here on Monday. (India defeat Palestine in second round)
With this win, and following Palestine's loss to Japan, India are just a step away from progressing to the quarter-finals of the tournament, which is happening after a gap of 12 years.
Yet again, power forward Amjyot Singh was India's most efficient performer with 26 points and 12 rebounds, while veteran Yadwinder Singh had a stellar shooting performance off the bench.
Speaking about the game Yadwinder said, "Although we were trailing at the beginning, we were fully confident that we would win."
On his own offensive performance, he said, "My focus has always been on defense but I found that our scoring was stuck, so I stepped up my aggression and it paid off."
In their final second round match on Tuesday, India take on Asian powerhouse Philippines.
Result: India (Amjyot Singh 26 pts, 12 rbs, 4 assts, & 3 blks, Yadwinder Singh 18 pts, 6 rbs, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 16 pts, 3 rbs, 4 stls, & 6 asts, Amritpal Singh 8 pts & 15 rbs) beat Hong Kong (C Wong, 21 pts & 10 rbs, S. Chan 17 pts & 4 rbs) 76-71 (14-19, 20-20, 19-17, 23-15).