Boxscore

INCHEON (FIBA Asia Championship for Women) - Japanese coach Tomohide Utsumi allayed any talk of his team not playing at their best in the final Level I encounter against Malaysia on Thursday.

"We kind of knew the result to expect from the game before the start itself. But then that didn't mean we were taking Malaysia for granted," Utsumi said.

"I told the girls to improve their shooting rate. Also I wanted them to play at a much faster pace."

"So there was no question of relaxing at all," he said.

Malaysia coach Tan See Wah said "We too knew the result before the game itself. But then every match has been a learning experience for my girls."

"Now we have the biggest challenge of the Championship. To win the play-off (against India on Saturday) and remain in Level I," he said.

Scores
Japan 117 (Yumi Iwamura 22, Hirmoi Suwa 15, Ryoko Utsumi 14, Emi Isoyama 13, Yuka Watanabe 12) bt Malaysia 32 (Chan Ying Chee 9). (Quarterwise: 24-10, 54-12, 89-28)

S Mageshwaran
FIBA Asia