Basketball
FIBA U18 Asia Cup: Indian basketball team reaches quarters after 8 years
India defeated favourites Lebanon in a thrilling encounter to clinch the quarter-final spot at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup after eight years.
Indian U18 Basketball team stunned heavy favourites Lebanon to reach the quarter-finals of the FIBA Asia Cup after eight years on Friday.
The Indian team defeated Lebanon 64-62 in a thrilling encounter to win the round of 16 tie.
Despite maintaining the lead throughout the match, the Indian team almost blew up a 15-point lead at one stage. However, Ankush came with free throws in the dying seconds, and the whole team hung on to advance to the tournament for the first time in almost a decade.
The last time India reached the quarters of the biennial competition was in 2016.
Coached by the senior head coach Scott Flemming, the Indian will be awaiting a big test against the Chinese team.
Ankush top-scored for India with 14 points on 44.4 percent shooting from the field as he stepped up to the plate in crunch time after seeing Mohamad Ishan and Lavish leave one after the other as the two key cogs got fouled out.
Ishan and Lavish, though, caused damage to the opposition before fouling out as they played major roles in the team's solid showing in the middle quarters that ultimately led to a 55-40 advantage early in the deciding chapter.
Ishan left the game with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, together with 4 assists, a steal, and 3 blocks to net an efficiency of 21.
