All-round India proves too good for Kazakhstan in Asia Cup qualifier

All-round India proves too good for Kazakhstan in Asia Cup qualifier

India stunned Kazakhstan with a huge 88-69 win in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, at the Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Monday, for its first win in four matches of the tournament.

The victory provided the host a much-needed lifeline in its quest to qualify for the finals. India will next play away matches against Iran (February 21, 2025) and Qatar (Feb. 24).

Without doubt, it was the host’s best performance in the qualifiers so far.

Not only did India shine with its three-pointers, it outshone Kazakhstan in shooting from the paint with wonderful lay-ups and higher percentage of offensive and defensive rebounds, factors which even India’s head coach Scott Fleming wasn’t particularly confident about.

All credit to shooting guard Kanwar Sandhu, who started the resurgence in the second quarter. After a sedate first quarter (9-18), India needed to up the ante and Kanwar did it with three 3-pointers that set up the momentum for India.

Point guard Pranav Prince (17) was the lodestar for India along with Kanwar (17). With seven assists and six rebounds, Prince turned in an impressive performance.

“Beating a higher ranked team than us (India’s 76 to Kazakhstan’s 69), I don’t think that’s been done for 10-11 years. And I think, no more can somebody say we let down in the third and fourth quarter. We wanted to make sure tonight our best quarters were three and four,” said a happy Fleming.