TIANJIN (FIBA Asia Championship) - Last edition’s semifinalists Kazakhstan huffed, puffed and scratched the bottom before scrapping past India 74-72 in a Group C game on Saturday.

Kazakhstan thus posted their first win in the Championship and booked their place in the eight-final round.

India having lost all their three games will go into the 13-16 classification round, but with their heads high.

India went neck and neck with Kazakhstan before the latter seemed to have seized the intiative, when they led 61-49 going into the fourth quarter.

But Vishesh Bhriguvanshi scored eight of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter and Jayram Jat accounted for eight out of his 11 points of the game in the same time to launch an Indian counter-offensive.

Ironically enough Jat faltered with free-throws on two occasions and Bhriguvanshi missed once and India’s 23-13 fourth quarter surge went in a losing cause.

Anton Ponomarev was Kazakhstan’s leading scorer with 18 points, with Rustam Yargaliyew contributing 17.

S Mageshwaran
FIBA Asia