India finished its Level 1 league engagements in the FIBA Asian women's basketball championship without a victory after losing to newcomer Lebanon 71-52 at Omura-Nagasaki, Japan, on Thursday.
Lebanon finished the first quarter with a 16-point advantage and hung on to it despite India's strong comeback in the last quarter.
Geethu had been a dominant player in all her previous games, but surprisingly, she was off-colour for the major part of the game against the group's weakest team. She found her touch in the fourth quarter when she scored 15 of 21.
Lebanon finished a creditable fifth while India ended at the bottom of the six-team Level 1 without a point.
India will now play Malaysia, the Level II winner, in the qualifying play-off and needs to win to retain its position in the championship's premier division in the next edition.
The semifinal line-up was also clear. China will take on Japan while Level 1 topper Korea will meet Chinese Taipei.
The results (Level 1 league) : Lebanon 71 bt India 52 (Geethu Anna Jose 21, Anitha Pauldurai 9); China bt Japan 76-53; Korea bt Chinese Taipei 69-67.
