Philippines clinch Quarter-Finals spot in Asian Games; join China, Japan, Korea, and India

HANGZHOU (China) - India continue their impressive run while other Women's Asia Cup Division A teams maintain their positive forms, locking up 5 spots in the Quarter-Finals of Women's Basketball in the 19th Asian Games.

Key Storylines

-India stay undefeated
-Philippines surge in second-quarter again
-Japan, China, Korea continue to dominate
-Chinese Taipei come from behind to disappoint Thailand

Recap

Japan handily took care of Kazakhstan in a dominant 92-30 win to start the day. The Women's Asia Cup 2023 Finalists had three players scoring in double-digits as they outscored their opponents in every quarter.

The Philippines were also able to claim a big win, 99-63, but actually found themselves trailing Hong Kong, China 20-19 at the end of the first quarter. In the end, the big three of Afril Bernardino, Janine Pontejos, and Jackie Animam were too much to handle.

Korea also had a slow start on their way to an 81-62 win over DPR Korea. Korea's star Jisu Park had a masterful performance of 18 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks, which combined with the team effort was able to withstand another explosive outing by DPR Korea's Jina Pak who recorded 29 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

One of the most exciting games of the day finished with Chinese Taipei winning 58-54 over Thailand, despite being down by 10 points in the last 5 minutes of the game. Lin Yu Ting was the spark of the game for Chinese Taipei as she assisted on three field-goals, got two steals, and made one three-pointer from the moment that Chinese Taipei fell behind by 10 points, which ultimately put them back in the lead - all in the span of less than 2 minutes.

Thailand had to see a big performance from Thunchanok Lumdabpang go to waste as she recorded 12 points, 20 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.

Indonesia were treated to an early welcome to Division A basketball as they were handed a 101-52 defeat from the defending Women's Asia Cup champions. Li Yueru continues to show how much of an impact she could have additionally provided for China in Sydney with 22 points and 9 rebounds in the win. Indonesia recently gained promotion to Women's Asia Cup 2025 Division A this August.

In the last game of the day, India keep their splendid form going with a 68-62 win over Mongolia to stay undefeated. More importantly, the win also secured a Quarter-Finals spot for India where they join Japan, China, Philippines, and Korea as teams to have already locked up their spots in the next phase of the competition. Pushpa Senthil Kumar erupted with 30 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks.

Upcoming Games (30 September)

Men's Basketball

Japan vs Korea 11:00 (GMT +8)
Indonesia vs Qatar 11:00 (GMT +8)
Iran vs Kazakhstan 13:30 (GMT +8)
Saudi Arabia vs UAE 13:30 (GMT +8)
Jordan vs Philippines 17:30 (GMT +8)
Bahrain vs Thailand 17:30 (GMT +8)
China vs Hong Kong, China 20:00 (GMT +8)
Chinese Taipei vs Mongolia 20:00 (GMT +8)

FIBA