Indonesia avoid relegation with buzzer-beater as Chinese Taipei, China advance to Semis

BENGALURU (China) - Chinese Taipei and China book last tickets to Semi-Finals and U19 Women’s World Cup while Indonesia wins at the buzzer to avoid relegation.

The day started with Indonesia massive victory, beating hosts India at the buzzer, 48-45.

Indonesia had led through most of the game and the entirety of the first half but India rode a 9-0 run to get their first lead of the game later in the third quarter. Unfortunately, India could not hold onto their lead - which was as big as 5 points in the final minutes.

The game headed into the final minutes tied up at 45 after a layup by Nitika Amuthan, until the final play. On an inbounds pass, Vanissa Siregar caught the ball, took two dribbles, and drained the leaning three-pointer just as the buzzer sounded.

 

The win clinched seventh place for Indonesia which means the team will stay in Division A for the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship 2024. Meanwhile, India will be relegated to play in Division B.

The dramatic game was followed by another intense clash between Chinese Taipei and New Zealand with the former claiming the win, 77-67.

With the win, Chinese Taipei return to play in the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in consecutive editions for the first time ever while also confirming their ticket to Semi-Finals.

Chinese Taipei never trailed in this game, but New Zealand were always not far behind ever after trailing by as much as 20 points in the first quarter. The game was actually tied for a few instances in the second half, which pressured Chinese Taipei who were struggling to connect on long range shots.

It was until the last two minutes of the game that Chinese Taipei knocked down their first three-pointer out of 17 attempts by Han Hsun, and it was just the boost that the team had needed.

 

Hsiao Yu Wen had yet another massive statistical performance with 20 points, 23 rebounds, 4 assists, 7 steals, and 3 blocks for 45 EFF - marking one of the best individual performances since 2010 in the competition. Sung Jui Chen also had a productive game with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Aria Cowley had a great game for the young Tall Ferns with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals.

The last game of the day saw the last ticket to the Semi-Final and U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup clinched by China as they broke away in the second half to win, 70-53.

The score was close throughout most of the first three quarters, but a seven-minute scoreless run by Korea allowed China to get the advantage they needed to stay ahead for good in the final ten minutes of the contest.

China’s sharpshooter Li Qingyang had her highest scoring game of the competition yet with 26 points on 6 three-pointers while also grabbing 7 rebounds.

Lee Dahyun was the top scorer for Korea with 14 points on 5-1 shooting from the field.

The Semi-Finals pairings that will be played on 10 September 2022 will be Australia vs Chinese Taipei and Japan vs China another rematch from the previous five U18 Women’s Asian Championship Finals.

FIBA