Cheongju KB turned in a triumphant FIBA Women’s Basketball League Asia debut by dominating the Indian Railways, 81-42, on Wednesday night at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reigning WKBL champions rolled to a 20-8 start and was all they needed to set up the rout, eventually completing half of the Semi-Finals cast as the two teams qualifying from Group B have been assured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By keeping the host team listless, the Stars have given the Denso Iris a free ride to the next phase set this Saturday, October 24 – the Japanese team walloped the same opponent some 24 hours ago, 119-35.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With that, the Korean ball club and their W League counterparts will be squaring off for the no. 1 spot in the pool tonight, in the final game of the Group Phase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Through these games we are giving opportunities to players to improve a lot. There are fans cheering for us from Cheongju, for sure they are proud to see us here,” Coach Kim Wansoo said of their rousing league debut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of the Stars scored in the overwhelming victory, with Na Yunjeong showing the way with 18 points, all of which she collected from beyond the arc as she knocked down 6 of the team’s 16 triples in the contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Song Yunha came close to a double-double outing with 12 points and 9 rebounds, while Yoon Yebin chipped in 10 points for Cheongju.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We’re really grateful that we can have games like this,” said star guard Heo Yeeun, expressing honor and gratitude to have set foot in WBL Asia. “We’re learning a lot and we are gaining a lot from this competition.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manmeet Kaur, on the other hand, was one of the few bright spots for the Railways with 17 points and 7 rebounds in the loss, which was nonetheless a better showing as compared to the beating they received from Denso.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pushpa Senthil Kumar backed her up with 9 points and 10 rebounds as they finished the Group Phase without a win in the 2 games they played.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, the Railways have an opportunity to conclude their maiden campaign on a high note, as they will be competing in the Classification 5-6 on Saturday as well against the team finishing last in Group A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently, all 3 in the other pool – inaugural league champions Sichuan Yuanda Meile, Cathay Life, and the Akari Sparks – are very much in contention for the 3 remaining spots to the crossover Semi-Finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cathay Life finished strongly to avert disaster and beat the debuting Akari, 85-75, to barge into the FIBA WBL Asia win column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tigers squandered a 20-point lead and even trailed by as many as 4 during the fourth, but still showed much better poise in the endgame toward bouncing back after losing to Sichuan Yuanda Meile yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liu Hui-Ju gave themselves the lead for good with a tough layup off the glass, before Hsu Yu-Lien knocked down a jumper from the baseline to give themselves the 78-75 advantage with 2:01 remaining in the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then came the bruising Penina Davidson, taking over to spearhead the closeout by scoring and assisting in her team’s last 7 points, as the WSBL champions put together an 11-0 attack for a solid windup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cathay Life improved to 1-1 following the win and would need the Pandas to take care of business against the Sparks tomorrow, Thursday, October 22, to formalize their entry to the knockout Semi-Finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We are very happy to win again,” expressed head coach Cheng Hui-Yun, pleased with the way her squad responded after absorbing a 92-70 defeat to the inaugural league champions some 24 hours ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Davidson finished with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists in a showing highlighted by the dagger triple she buried for the 81-75 lead with 1:29 left to play that took the spark off their foes from the Philippines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chu Chu came through with 14 points alongside 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals. Liu supplied 13 points, while Hsu made 12. Hsiao Yu-Wen tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds, with Shelby Cheslek adding 7 and 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I thought today we just responded pretty well after a pitiful loss yesterday. That wasn’t nice,” said Davidson, who also shot an efficient 10-of-15 from the field and finished with an efficiency of 29 to lead all players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saicha Grant-Allen had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead Akari in the fightback that fell just short, as her brief absence after hurting her right leg at the 4:53-mark of the fourth proved costly for her team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They did manage to take the 75-74 lead behind Stefanie Berberabe with 2:51 to go, but it proved to be their final stand as the Tigers took it from there, foiling the Sparks’ bid of upsetting a WBL Asia pioneer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bre’Amber Scott made 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Kent Pastrana had 13 points, while Berberabe chipped in 11 for the WMPBL titlists, who even enjoyed a 66-62 lead early in the fourth but couldn’t hold on to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We were still in the ball game, but unfortunately, Saicha got hurt. And it’s like we just got blown out after that,” lamented Akari head coach Derrick Pumaren. “But I’m really proud of the way we came back.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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