ORLANDO: India's campaign ended at the Junior NBA World Championship with both the girls' and boys' teams crashing out in the first knock-out round of the Under-14 international tournament at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex inside Walt Disney World here.
The Indian girls, represented by a team from Bengaluru, showed great fight before losing by 31-62 margin against China late last night.
The Indian girls fought hard but failed to match the physically more superior Chinese opponents who were also more precise in shooting.
The Indian girls lost all the four periods 17-4 14-13 14-6 17-8 but showed great fighting spirit in the second period to close the gap.
Later in the day, the Indian boys' team from New Delhi were thrashed 29-86 by a combined side of Africa and Middle-East.
The Indian boys were no match against their tall and well-built rivals as they were outclassed 6-20 5-20 9-30 9-16 in all the four periods.
However, the experience and exposure which the 20-odd Indian boys and girls got would do a world of good to raise their confidence and knowledge about the sport.
The girls, in particular, shone brightly as they outperformed their compatriots by notching up a win in the Jr NBA World Championship, a first of its kind global youth basketball tournament for Under-14 boys and girls from across the world.
The Indian girls eked out a fighting 40-37 win over a combined team from South America in their final pool match earlier in the week.