TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – National team basketball New Zealand extended their dominance over India after claiming a resounding 100-47 victory in the inaugural FIBA ​​Asia Cup 2022 Group D match at Istora GBK, Senayan, Jakarta on Wednesday 13 July 2022. In the opener of the second day, Sam Mennenga became New Zealand’s most productive player scoring 21 points.

A number of players also stand out. Taine Murray managed to accumulate 13 points, while the other four players, Flynn Cameron, Takiula Fahrensohn, Kruz Perrott-Hunt and Sam Timmins each contributed 10 points. On the Indian side, the top scorers were Arvind Kumar Muthu Krishnan with 13 points, Pranav Prince with 10 points and Sahaij Pratap Singh Sekhon with eight points.

From the start of the match, New Zealand immediately showed pressure. A two-point shot from Flynn Cameron opened the scoring. India did not remain silent and responded with a lay-up from Prashant Singh Rawat, then reversed the situation 4-2 with a lay-up from Amritpal Singh.

India had time to dig the advantage 6-2. However, a three-pointer from New Zealand basketball player Takiula Fahrensohn cut it to 5-6. At the start of the first quarter, the two teams were vying for points. New Zealand slowly started to pull away from India to close it with a 30-12 advantage.

Going into the second quarter, New Zealand again dominated and scored 12 straight points. Isaac Davidson and his friends did not give India a chance to develop the game. In the third quarter, India resisted. In this phase, Veselin Matic’s team scored 14 points, two points behind New Zealand. The score became 80-35 for New Zealand.

In the last quarter, Zeeland was again dominant by scoring 20 points. Meanwhile, India closed the fourth quarter with 12 points. The game ended with New Zealand winning 100-47.

This result also maintained New Zealand’s dominance over India. This year, the two teams faced off in the FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers at Smart Araneta Coliseum, Malina, Philippines. New Zealand won with a score of 101-46 on February 24. Four days later they won again with 95-60.

A clear win over India puts New Zealand top of the FIBA ​​Asia Cup 2022 Group D standings. They will play their final matches against Lebanon on Friday July 15 and the Philippines on Sunday July 17, 2022 .

India captain Amritpal Singh said the crushing defeat to New Zealand was an important lesson for young players. “Our team is full of very young players who are playing in their age group. This first game was a good experience for our young players and of course we will try even harder in the next two games,” Singh said. .

Of the 12 players brought to Jakarta, Amritpal Singh is the most experienced player with four appearances in the previous edition. He leads the ranks of young players who make up the Indian team, such as Kurshal Singh, 17, as well as two NBA Academy students, Pranav Prince and Aryan, both 19.

India assistant coach Thankachan Mulackal Chacko also agrees. “Our young players are improving under coach Veselin Matic. Unfortunately today he didn’t feel good. In the first two quarters we didn’t manage to get a lot of rebounds in defense and in attack,” he said.

“We are looking forward to the next two games. It’s good for the experience of our youth team. In fact, we practiced a lot against the press all over the pitch, but our point guards lacked experience in managing situations like that,” Thankachan said.

In group D FIBA Asia Cup 2022, India will have two matches remaining. They will face the Philippines on Friday July 15 and Lebanon on Sunday July 17, 2022.

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