JOR / IND – Abbas’ second quarter binge takes Jordan ahead

KUWAIT (FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup): Zaid Abbas scored 13 points in the second quarter as Jordan shrugged off a sluggish start to beat India 69-48 in the second FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup here on Friday.

Rasheim Wright, playing his first international tournament in a long time, was the leading scorer for Jordan with a game-high 24 points.

But it was Abbas’ spree that injected the pace for a slow-starting Jordan.

Abbas went on to finish with 16 points, apart from collecting seven boards – five in defense – and was named MVP for the game.

“They denied us the pace initially and we struggled to get into rhythm,” Jordan coach Mario Palma said.

“We didn’t get to see the ball as much as we would have liked, but then we also didn’t press hard enough,” the Portuguese said.

Trideep Rai sank back-to-back three-pointers to put India ahead early in the game and the Middle Asia nation seemed to hold fort as they closed the first quarter 15-13.

Trideep went on to finish with a team-high 17 points, sinking five of his eight attempts from behind the arc.

India continued to lead and Wright’s double free throws – twice in succession – brought helped Jordan regain the lead (21-23) midway through the second quarter.

Abbas took over after that for the rest of the first half and pulled away to a 37-27 lead at the end of the first half.

The rest of the game saw India play catching up, but ran out of breath against the much better coordinated opposition.

“I’m happy with the way we started without any fear of the opposition,” India coach Aleksandar Bucan said.

“Also happy with the way we finished,” he added.

“I think we played far better than we did yesterday and that’s what matters for us. Let’s not forget this is a much better opposition,” the Serbian said.

“It’s important for us to learn from these games in the overall scheme of things.”

Jordan play Qatar on Saturday, while India have a rest day.

Scores

Jordan 69 (Rasheim Wright 24, Zaid Abbas 16) bt India 48 (Trideep Rai 17, Robinson 10). Quarterwise Scores: 13-15, 37-27, 58-36.

S Mageshwaran
FIBA Asia