Australia and Canada record wins: FIBA U-19 World Championship for Women July 21 Roundup (Part 1)
Australia 20 – Nigeria 0
In game-1 of the Group-C, Australia earned a walkover with 20 points, as the Nigerian side failed to appear in the tournament. The rest of the teams in Group-C will also get byes in the preliminary round because of Nigeria’s absence.
According to the FIBA rules, a team will lose the game by forfeit, if it comes 15 minutes after the opening time or if the squad is not present or at least five players fails to make it to the court. In such scenarios, the game
will be awarded to the rival team and the score shall be 20-0.
The Nigerian team failed to feature in the tournament because of the poor travel arrangements. Nigerian coach Adewumi Aderemi expressed his disappointment over Nigeria’s inability to appear in the tournament and the sad state of
basketball affairs in the country,
“It is going to be a big challenge to the basketball federation especially the sports commission that everything is not about football only. If it were the football team money will be available, the Under-20 football team will
be travelling out very soon for the World Cup. But why is it that when it comes to the basketball there is no fund?”
Aderemi also said that in the light of the current episode, he is expecting a ban or fine on the Nigerian team by the governing body of international basketball (FIBA).
“It is going to be heavy and it is going to tell on the purse of the federation. I don’t know the type of fine Nigeria will get from FIBA but I’m sure definitely Nigeria will be sanctioned.”
Canada 76 – China 49
In the first game of the Group-A, Canada routed China 76-49. Point guard Nirra Fields powered the Canadians with a game-high 22 points.
During her 23 minutes on the field, Fields also clutched nine rebounds, just one short to accomplish a game-winning double-double. Field hit 40.9 percent from the field, 25.0 percent from the three-point range and 50 percent from
the charity stripe. Besides Fields, Diana Lee chipped in with 13 points and three rebounds for Canada.
Jiamie Liang led the Chinese squad with his 12 points, five rebounds and one assist while Liwei Yang added 11 points and catered four assists.
The Canadians were dominant right from the first quarter. They rattled the Chinese with a 23-6 blitz early and led China by 17-point lead, going into the second quarter. The Chinese made an effort to slash the Canadian lead in
the second quarter, but Canada’s offensive unit kept finding inroads in the fragile defence of their rivals. By the time, the first half came to an end, Canada were leading by 41-16.
The one way traffic continued in the second half as well, and Canada cruised to a 27 point victory.
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