Boxscore

INCHEON (FIBA Asia Championship for Women) - Middle Asian rivals India and Sri Lanka stood at the diametrically opposite ends of the Level II spectrum at the end of the former's win on Thursday.

India used the match for their Saturday's qualification play-off against Malaysia, while Sri Lanka were "happy with the experience."

India rested center Geethu Anna Jose, who anyway topscored the game, for the entire of the fourth quarter and rarely fielded playmaker Anitha Pauldurai. "I wanted to keep them fresh for the play-off," Indian coach Sat Prakash said.

"We were confident of achieving the win. I used them to ensure they don't get rusty. But once we gained a substantial lead, there was no point in tiring them out."

"Also we have come with a couple of juniors for exposure. What better match could I have asked for to use them," Prakash said.

"The Indian team looks very confident to earn promotion," said Sri Lankan manager Fernando said.

"We are not really worried about the result or the margin of defeat. We were her anyway for the experience," he said. "Our only concern is if we can maintain continuity."

Scores
India 105 (Geethu Anna Jose 29, Divya Singh 16, Anitha Pauldurai 13) bt Sri Lanka 56 (B Fernando 28, G Silva 15). (Quarterwise: 33-8, 59-33, 82-45)

S Mageshwaran
FIBA Asia