India thrashed Singapore 79-49 to record their third win on the trot in the 2018 FIBA Asia Women’s Under-18 basketball championships at Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.

Gulabsha Ali scored 21 points for the hosts as they kept their winning streak alive against a hapless Singapore outfit in Division B.

India raced off to a 20-3 lead in the first quarter and the Singaporeans couldn’t recover from the early damage. They did better to make the score 38-25 at half-time. But the hosts surged to a 63-36 lead in the penultimate quarter’s end. India scored 16 more points in the last quarter to cruise to the semis.

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Meanwhile, in Division A, Korea Republic and Japan entered the semi-finals and qualified for the World Cup with stunning wins.

Korea Republic, in a Group A game, stunned Australia 63-62 for their third win on the trot. And, Japan shocked holders China 94-79 to make the last four from Group B. In the bargain, both teams qualified for the 2019 World Cup women’s Under-19 basketball championships to be held in Thailand.

Korea Republic beat fancied Australia in a nail-biting Group A encounter. Sohee Lee, with 21 points, seven assists and six steals, was Korea’s star performer.

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In another Group A match, Chinese Taipei defeated Indonesia 99-54.

Group B threw up the biggest surprise of the evening with Japan beating China. Layla Takehara, playing a total of 22.06 minutes of the match and shooting guard Norika Konno (on the court for 21.7 minutes), were Japan’s star performers. Japan were able to launch super-fast counters leaving the Chinese stranded and scrambling. The ploy worked wonderfully in the final quarter when Japan trailed by seven points at 48-55. They unleashed a torrent of electrifying moves to exert tremendous pressure in a full-court press.

New Zealand outplayed hapless Malaysia 99-32 in another Group B match.