Hot Shooting India take giant leap towards Asia Cup Qualification
The Indian men's team beat Iraq 97-77 in the Final Qualifying Tournament and will face hosts Bahrain on Sunday.
Khalifa Sports City, Bahrain: Bringing back memories of India’s back-to-back victories over Iraq in the previous Asia Cup 2021 qualification campaign, the Young Cagers have now made it a hattrick of wins against the same opponent.
A hot shooting India - knocked down over 50% of their threes - including a 32-19 third quarter, to take one big step towards its 11th straight appearance in the continental championship.
India next faces Bahrain on Sunday. While a win will guarantee a spot in this year’s Asia Cup, a loss would mean it would have to rely on Bahrain beating Iraq, to seal the final qualification spot.
Sharing is Caring
As India Head Coach Scott Flemming pointed out in the post-game press conference, the team moved the ball superbly to knock down high-percentage rhythm threes. With a 22-8 assist to turnover ratio, India protected the ball well and were highly efficient in the field.
Seven Indian players connected from beyond the arc. While point guard Muin Bek Hafeez led in terms of volume (5/8), he was ably supported by backcourt partners Arvind Muthu Krishnan (4/4) and Harsh Dagar (3/6).
Hafeez was particularly unstoppable in the decisive third period, where India outscored Iraq by 13 points, eventually ballooning to the final 97-77 scoreline.
For Iraq, helmed by former Indian Head Coach Veselin Matic, veteran centre Mohammad Al-Khafaji led the way with 19 points in the losing effort.
One Key Gap
Coach Flemming will be well aware of the streakiness of India’s sharpshooters, and against Bahrain, might want his frontline to step up.
However, barring Palpreet Singh - who, size-wise is arguably more of a power forward than a true center - India has limited options in the paint. This gap becomes yawning considering Singh’s propensity to get into foul trouble.
Against Iraq, Singh was fouled out in under 17 minutes, and with him on the bench, the Iraqis were able to dominate the offensive boards. 22-year-old 6ft 7’’ small forward Arvinder Singh does seem to be getting more comfortable in Indian colours with every appearance, bringing valuable energy off the bench, but needs more time to mature.
Former G-League alum Princepal Singh too - once considered a huge prospect - now, even after multiple India appearances, clearly appears more suited to being a role player.
So the key question that needs to be asked is: where is India’s next generation of true bigs?
Specifically, it is significant to note that India’s sole NCAA D1 male basketball player - the 6ft 11’ Amaan Sandhu is currently captaining the Punjab team in the ongoing U23 National Championships rather than playing for India.
Final Score
India (Muin Bek Hafeez 17 pts, Pranav Prince 14 pts, Harsh Dagar 13 pts, Arvind Muthu Krishnan 12 pts, Palpreet Singh Brar 11 pts, Arvinder Singh 10 pts) bt Iraq (Mohammad Al-Khafaji 20 pts, Ihab Al-Zuhairi 13 pts 11 reb, Demario Mayfield 20 pts) 97-77 [30-30, 14-8, 32-19, 21-20]
India’s Next Game
Sunday, 23 March 12:30 am vs Bahrain
How to Watch?
The game will be live-streamed on the Courtside 1891 website/app, accessible after paying a $1 event subscription.
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