Mauled by Mozambique, Indian women finish sixth in basketball

Melbourne, Mar 22 (UNI) Indian women basketball team's cup of woes was full to the brim as they finished sixth after mauled by Mozambique 44-70 in the Commonwealth Games here today.

India had beaten Mozambique narrowly (58-54) in their league match but it was a dramatic role reversal today and the African nation took the revenge by pounding their rival.

Indian women started favourite but their challenge fizzled out against the sustained pressure of the Mozambique players. It was indeed surprising to see the Indians looking so jaded and off-colour.

One had expected them to fare better, enriched by the experience of the league matches and the exposure but that was not to be and tonight the entire team stood totally exposed.

Mozambique played aggressively and scored fluently. It was only in the second quarter that India led briefly ( 12-9).

The Africans led 23-10 in the first quarter but yielded the second, then they took the next two 19-5, 19-17 to seal the issue in their favour.

Anna Geethu Jose topscored for India with 20 points, while Anitha Pauldurai (8) and Amika Gujar (6) were the other main scorers for the losers.

Elias Rute Muianga (21) was the pick of the Mozambique side, while Adriano Cossa chipped in with 19 points and Muloi Deolinda Gimo contributed 14.

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