SEREMBAN (Malaysia) - India pulled away late to beat Samoa, 71-54, and book the first ticket to the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Cup 2025-Division B Semi-Finals, Monday at the Karisma Arena.
The SABA representatives put together the decisive 13-0 run to widen a narrow four-point lead to 65-48 with 3:10 remaining to eventually clinch the no. 1 spot in Group A with a pristine 3-0 record.
Reva Kulkarni showed the way with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists in another all-around effort. Nethra Birudavolu also did a bit of everything after finishing with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, and 6 steals.
Aditi Subramanian came through with 14 points as well. Mahek Sharma notched 11 points and 15 rebounds while Viha Jonnalagadda added 10 points and 14 rebounds as the quintet carried much of the load offensively.
These same five were also crucial in Team India's strong fourth quarter, with Sharma helping give themselves a good lead early before Birodavolu and Subramanian triggered the aforementioned run that put it away.
Both players converted their foes' turnovers into easy baskets to prevent the Samoans from inching closer after the latter was able to cut a nine-point gap to only 52-48 with less than eight minutes to go.
Kulkarni then made three straight points, before dishing a dime to Jonnalagadda to continue the scoring spree. Subramanian then made back-to-back hits, and their lead would balloon to 17 points.
Eventually, all of India would erupt in celebration at center court as they took a major step toward fulfilling their goal of bringing the program back to Division A after being relegated back in 2022.
Adelaide Filemu, on the other hand, led Samoa with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Marley Sialeipata backed her up with 15 points, 17 rebounds, and 6 assists as they bowed out of contention with a 0-3 record.
Keeping their hopes alive, meanwhile, are Iran following a 61-54 victory over Uzbekistan to seal the no. 2 placing in Group A and to advance to the Qualification to Semi-Finals set on Wednesday, September 17.
The troika of Anahita Aminidehyadegari, Paria Mehrmand, and Asma Shadrouh joined hands in the 6-0 run to close the game, showing solid poise after the opposition got to within a point, 55-54, with 5:19 to spare.
Aminidehyadegari gave her side some room to breathe with a perfect trip to the foul line, before Mehrmand converted inside to make it a five-point lead at 59-54 with less than three minutes to go.
Shadrouh would go 2-for-2 from the stripe as well with two minutes left for the eventual final count as Uzbekistan struggled to find the bottom of the net in a scoring drought that happened at the worst time possible.
Hasti Khazaei led the young Team Melli with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Mobina Bereihi produced 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists in 40 minutes to help the crew finish the Group Phase with a 2-1 record.
Wasted by the loss was the solid outing of Munirakhon Khalikova, who led the CABA squad with 25 points, mainly built on the six threes she made. Rayhona Salimova made 19 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.
Team Uzbekistan fell to 1-2 following the defeat and ended up at third place in the group, although they're still in the running for a seat in the Semi-Finals as they're also headed to the Qualification to Semi-Finals.
FIBA