Day 3 of the 2018 FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship saw the completion of the Group fixtures in both divisions.
With the completion of the group fixtures, here's a short recap of India's group stage fixtures and everything you need to know for the knockout rounds ahead:
India dominate Group A in Division B and cruise to semis
India, who were considered strong contenders to win Division B, won their three group games by a combined margin of 103 points. Although their first fixture of the tournament against Iran was a close encounter, one they won by 8 points, the remaining two games against Guam and Singapore were lopsided contests.
India beat Guam by 65 points and ensured a semifinal spot with a 30-point win against Singapore in the final group game on Tuesday.
Hosts @BFI_basketball 🇮🇳 🔝 their group & ➡️ to the Division B Semis #FIBAU18Asia pic.twitter.com/SjgVSpkWr4
— FIBA (@FIBA) October 30, 2018
India's Top Performers [game-by-game]
Different members of the team stepped for the team in each of the three group games.
Game 1 vs Iran: Sreekala Rani - 19 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals on 40% shooting, +19
Game 2 vs Guam: Dharshini Thirunavukkarasu - 15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 10 steals on 75% shooting, + 43
Game 3 vs Singapore: Harshitha Kelttira Bopaiah - 15 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal on 63.6% shooting, +25
India's fixtures ahead
Having won all three games in their group, table toppers India are directly through to the semifinals of division B. They will play that semifinal fixture on Friday (Nov. 2) against the winner of the Singapore and Hong Kong quarterfinal contest.
On the other side of the bracket, Syria (Group B toppers in Division B) are also directly through to the semifinals. They are set to play on Friday as well against the winner of the quarterfinal match-up between Iran and Kazakhstan.
Division A update
In division A, Korea (Group A) and Japan (Group B) were the table toppers to win all their group games and advance directly to the semifinals.
Korea will face the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between China and Chinese Taipei. Meanwhile, Japan will face the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between Australia and New Zealand.
Consequences of tournament results
The top four teams from Division A will seal their place in 2019 FIBA U19 Women's World Cup. More importantly, the Division B winners get promoted to Division A, where they replace the bottom-placed team.
Can the U18 girls promote themselves to Division A, something the Indian U16 girls and senior women's team achieved in 2017? They need two more wins to do so.