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INCHEON (FIBA Asia Championship for Women) - Center Geethu Anna Jose top scored yet again, along with collecting 14 rebounds, as India retained their toppers status in Level II beating Hong Kong.

"We have retained our position as Level II winners. Now we have to go for the Level I spot," said Indian coach Sat Prakash. India will now have to win against the sixth placed team of Level I, in order gain promotion to the higher level.

India play Sri Lanka on Thursday, but the result of that encounter has no bearing on their situation. "It's nice to round off a day in advance. We'll probably get a better chance to work out our plans," Sat Prakash said. "We can even rest a little more."

The Indian coach attributed the success of his team to Anna Jose's staggering form thus far. "I really hope she can continue to play like this in the play-offs too," Prakash said.

"The tournament has been good so far. I'm not complaining at all," Anna Jose said. "But everything will come to a naught if we don't qualify," she added.

Hong Kong's assistant coach Wu Lai Fong too thought Anna Jose "made the difference between teams today."

"The way she collected the rebounds left very little chance cut out all the chances for our players," Lai Fong said. "To make matters worse for us, that girl (Anna Jose) did well in scoring too."

Lai Fong said playing against India, despite the loss, boosted her chances of making the play-off grade. "Our girls are richer by the experience. It'll surely help when we play Singapore tomorrow."

Scores
India 88 (Geethu Anna Jose 27, Divya Singh 18, Rashmi Channegowda 11)
Hong Kong 61 (Cheung Yuen Shan 19, Cho Kit Ying 10) (Quarterwise: 26-12, 49-29, 71-42)

S Mageshwaran
FIBA Asia