BENGALURU (India) - Denso announced their arrival in the FIBA Women's Basketball League Asia 2026 with a total domination of the Indian Railways, 119-35, on Tuesday night at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium.
The Iris needed very little time to find their rhythm, leaping off to a 27-8 lead before widening the gap to 58-18 entering the halftime intermission as the wall they built proved too insurmountable for the home team.
And such a stupendous start was predicated on pin-point accuracy from deep plus a conscious effort on finding the best possible shot - the W League champions hit 10 triples and tallied 21 assists just in the first half.
Half of the 12-woman lineup scored in double figures in the triumph, led by Haruna Kasagi with 23 points - spiked by 5 of the team's 15 triples- and 5 rebounds as she played a key role in setting the tone for the rout.
Minami Yabu and Mio Shiraishi supplied 16 points each. Senegalese forward Sokhna Sylla delivered 12 points and 7 rebounds. Hanami Shinohara made 11 points while Mai Kawai finished with 10 points and 12 assists.
Denso, all in all, shot an efficient 56.5-percent from the floor, and wound up with 54 rebounds and 33 assists. as they completely had their way against the host team in a battle between WBL Asia newcomers.
"This is the first international game in the history of our club so we tried to play with as much energy as we could," said Coach Vladimir Vuksanovic, pleased as well with the appearance of Japanese fans in the venue.
I really liked the atmosphere. We had visitors from the Japanese community who live in India, and we had fans from India. It was a nice atmosphere. We enjoyed it.
The Iris, hoping of course for another solid turnout of fans, will try to sweep their way into the knockout Semi-Finals when they take on the Cheongju KB Stars of Korea on Thursday, October 22, at 19:00 local time.
They could be coming into that game better rested since the WKBL champions will be making their debut tomorrow, Wednesday, against the Railways but the team is still expecting no less than a tough clash.
"We expect to have a good game," said Vuksanovic when asked about the Stars. "For sure, both teams will be aggressive. And I think the fans can expect unusually high-paced basketball. I'm looking forward to it."
FIBA