Indian men’s basketball team needed a victory to stay in contention for the qualification of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup and at the Nehru Stadium on Monday, an inspired team did just that.
And by beating Kazakhstan, a much higher-ranked outfit, 88-69, the hosts finished the year by staying in the qualification hunt.
A transformed unit
Pranav Price turned in a stellar performance, scoring 17 points, securing six rebounds, and effecting seven assists.
India started the game on the offensive.
Their ball rotation was well coordinated, their rotation was spot on, and more importantly, their shooting accuracy was on the money.
A noticeable change was their long-range shooting, three-pointers to be precise.
While the hosts converted just 25 percent of their three-point attempts against Qatar, against Kazakhstan on the night, they were scoring at 42.9 percent. And this made a huge difference to the result.
Still in the hunt
The victory was historic in many ways.
It was the hosts’ first victory at the competition and it put an end to their 3-game losing streak.
Also, it was their first victory over Kazakhstan in a major FIBA competition in 27 years. However, the Indian team had a solid victory against Kazakhstan in the group stage of the 2014 Asian Games.
More importantly, in the context of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers, India stays in the hunt, mathematically at least.
Despite the resounding victory, India jumped up to the second position in the group.
With games against Iran and Qatar remaining in February next year, this victory comes as a much-needed shot in the arm.
That said, a lot has to happen if India is to make the cut for the 16-team event.
India must finish in the top two of the group to be assured of a spot in the final tournament. Should India, however, finish third in the group, a playoff will ensue with the other five third-placed teams.
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