Indias hopes of staving off the play-offs were dashed after a 78-67 loss to Thailand their fourth in a row and the hosts now face relegation after coming up short in Level 1 of the 23rd Fiba Asian womens Basketball Championship. Thailand a very beatable side,posing little threat aerially ended up being a task a shade too tough for the Indian women who,save for 26 seconds of the first few minutes of the match,never managed to take a lead. With just the game against Japan to go in the Level 1,India will be in a familiar territory,fighting to stay in the elite group,even as their performance reflects just how distant they are from Asias top standards. On Monday,the margin of defeat was the narrowest,and they crossed the 50-figure mark. But the Indians were off the mark again,with their pressure shots staying at less than 40 percent. Amazingly,their floor possession was a notch better than the Thais,though their over-dribbling and poor shooting meant they trailed through the most part of the game. Their defence,too,never got going as the underprepared hosts trailed 39-32 at half-time. Captain Geethu Anna Jose has been improving steadily,and snatched 23 points,but even she couldnt sustain the defensive pressure that was needed to stifle the modestly-talented Thais. Nobody stepped up to the defence today,and they couldnt box out the Thais and restrict their scoring, coach Dinesh Mitchell said later. Quick passes were necessary to break the half-court press,and with no ball-handler of note in the team,the team dribbled on to their own peril. Indians scored 4 off 18 on three-pointers,an improvement upon previous games,but still an abysmal percentage for this level. The big match of the tournament,pitting holders Korea against China,will be the final match on Tuesday featuring at least a dozen Olympians.
