(Photo FIBA)
Indonesia punched their ticket to the FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup 2026-Division B Semi-Finals following a 94-49 romp of Samoa on Friday evening at the Nimibutr Stadium.
The young Timnas began to seize control late in the opening period, and broke away wide come the third canto with a 20-9 spurt as their counterparts from Oceania couldn’t gather any steam to fight back.
Eventually, the competitors from SEABA would roll toward the penultimate phase, where they will be taking on the unbeaten Lebanon tomorrow, Saturday, July 18, for a chance to compete for Division A promotion.
They’re set to lock horns with a Cedars side that’s actually the very first to qualify for the Semi-Finals by finishing as the no. 1 team in Group B with a clean 3-0 record, capped by a 66-59 thriller versus Kazakhstan.
Five players finished in double figures in the win, with Joanne Giovanni and Yemima Rahiesa leading the pack with almost identical numbers as they finished with 15 points apiece and combined for 10 rebounds.
The tandem formed a three-headed assault with Praisey Blessed and put together a 12-2 run to turn a narrow two-point lead to 26-14 lead before the end of the opening period – the run that put them ahead for good.
Giovanni was also responsible for taking the fight out of their foes’ sails in the third, knocking down a trifecta that triggered a 10-0 run to push their lead to 70-43 late in the period as the game would never be in doubt.
Welly supplied 14 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists. Ariqa Chayyara made 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals, while Chloe Cung had 10. Blessed added a 7-7-3 stat line alongside 7 of their 26 steals in the win.
Reaching the Semi-Finals, without a doubt, serves as a major step toward Indonesia’s goal of returning to Division A after being relegated to the second level when they finished 8th in the 2024 tilt in China.
Mikayla Auva’a and Tyra Lee-Hang had 14 points apiece to lead Samoa, who will try to salvage a 5th-place finish against Thailand in the Classification 5-6.
Kazakhstan drub Thailand to complete Semi-Finals picture
Kazakhstan completed the Semi-Finals cast following a dominant 62-34 conquest of hosts Thailand.
The CABA representatives started to pull away with an 11-2 run for a 25-12 before the first ended, then leaned on defense in the middle quarters which left the host nation searching for answers that never arrived.
From scoring 15 in the first 10 minutes, the SEABA side got held to only a total of 12 points in the second and third chapters while their opponents had 27 combined to build a 52-27 lead, all but securing the victory.
After this solid rebound from a tough 66-59 loss to Lebanon in the Group Phase’s final day two days ago, the Kazakhs have set up a meeting with the spotless India in the Semi-Finals tomorrow, Saturday, July 18.
They will be battling the best team of Group A, who swept their way into the top spot and into the penultimate phase by winning all three of their games in the pool stage versus Thailand, Oman, and Indonesia.
All but two of Coach Aziza Temirgazy’s players scored in the victory, with Milana Krutevich headlining the balanced charge with a double-double showing with 14 points and 14 rebounds plus 3 steals and 4 blocks.
Kaussar Ybray and Amina Sharipova came through with 11 points each, as this very trio helped put together the aforementioned first-quarter rally that turned the game around in their favor the rest of the match.
Rebounds helped dictate the outcome as Kazakhstan hauled down 63 – it was 20 more than what was collected by Thailand, who also committed 34 turnovers in the defeat that foiled another Semi-Finals bid.
Thailand will try to salvage a 5th-place finish like in 2022 when they face Samoa in the Classification 5-6 tomorrow at 13:30 local time, which serves as a prelude to the knockout Semi-Finals that starts at 16:00.
Lebanon and Indonesia will open the Semi-Finals, followed by the face-off between India and Kazakhstan.
Meanwhile, the Cook Islands finished 7th in the tilt following a 125-14 victory in the Classification 7-8.
