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    Outclassed by NZ, India hopes to do much better vs Gilas

    India seeks to show fight in game vs Gilas
    Feb 25, 2022
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    Veselin Matic and the Indian squad hope to avoid slipping to 0-2.
    PHOTO: fiba.basketball

    THE odds are against India, but coach Veselin Matic is looking at this match against Gilas Pilipinas as another chance for his side to compete.

    "We are coming here and we are coming game-by-game," he said after India suffered a 101-46 beatdown at the hands of New Zealand on Thursday in the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers.

    India will play the second of its back-to-back games on Friday against host Philippines at Smart Araneta Coliseum at 6 p.m.

    The Indians hardly gave any fight against the Tall Blacks, falling behind early, 25-3, en route to the 55-point mauling.

    It's a tough defeat to take, and surely not the way India wanted its Group A campaign to start, but it has no other recourse but to pick itself up from this setback.

    "We'll forget this game, what we played today and we'll have to take the good parts of the game today and then we will try to continue what we did in our training camp and prepare for the games. We will try to [be competitive for the] whole game. That is a big step for us and then I hope that we will come out better," the Serbian mentor said.

    India lineup Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers 2021India tries to bounce back after a tough start.

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      With India getting outclassed in every category, Matic is hoping the team players learn from the mistakes and build on the little wins, particularly the decent showing from the likes of Sahaij Pratap Singh Sekhon, who topped the team with 10 points in the loss, and former NBA G League Ignite center Princepal Singh.

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      Matic, though, is hopeful that India's exposure in these games can help the program's growth as it aims to be regarded as one of the top nations in Asia in the future and hopefully, a spot in the World Cup.

      "India is in a transition for a moment and in the past, India has a lot of time and they had good players but never a competitive team that stayed competitive. That is something that would have to be changed," he said. "There are players who are good and then the bodies of these players look very good, but the style of the game and the experience of the game, that is something that's missing with Indian basketball. And that is what we're seeing and we try to change for the new generation."

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      Veselin Matic and the Indian squad hope to avoid slipping to 0-2.
      PHOTO: fiba.basketball
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