SEREMBAN (Malaysia) - Tonga denied Hong Kong, China of sweeping Group B by way of a 65-55 victory to finally break through into the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Cup 2025-Division B, Monday night at the Karisma Arena.
Free throws by Ruby Cutbush and Huni Folau inside the final 50.6 seconds, coupled by stifling defense, proved to be the finishing touches that the crew needed on their way to notching their first-ever win in the competition.
The ongoing meet marks the country's maiden appearance in the tournament and the 10-point triumph serves as a feat per se for the upstart program, who started out its campaign in this city with a pair of losses.
Barely 24 hours prior to Monday's clash saw the crew of Coach Joe Vega lose big to Indonesia but that game saw them show their teeth on defense, and their efforts finally paid off with an upset of the East Asian side.
Folau top-scored for Team Tonga with 14 points, alongside 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Siale Lolohea finished with a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, with Cutbush chipping in 11 as well.
Folau herself was key in kick-starting their strong fourth-quarter push, converting a three-point play that sparked a 7-0 run to widen a slim three-point cushion to eight points, 56-48, with 6:28 remaining on the clock,
Zion Lloyd and Vahanoa Wolfgramm would then help out in keeping the opposing team at bay with hits from close range, before the aforementioned tandem came through the all-important foul shots to seal the win.
Team Tonga finished the Group Phase with a 1-2 record and will now shift their attention to Samoa as the two are set to face one another in the Classification 7-8 on Wednesday, September 17, at 14:00 local time.
Hong Kong, China, on the other hand, fell to 2-1 with the loss but the result hardly mattered as they've already secured the no. 1 spot in the group, and will advance directly to the Semi-Finals on Thursday, September 18..
Valerie Lau carried the offense with 19 points and 7 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Indonesia broke away in the second frame and never looked back en route to beating Malaysia, 66-44, in the other game of the group that featured two long-time Southeast Asian basketball rivals.
The young Timnas took the upper hand late in the opening period before overpowering the hosts, 25-12, in the aforementioned period for a 39-24 lead to eventually clinch the no. 2 spot in Group B with a 2-1 record.
Sustaining their fine play from that 83-57 beatdown of Tonga, Coach Marlina Herawan's charges concluded their Group Phase campaign with back-to-back wins after sending the Malaysians skidding.
The Harimau have fallen to their second loss in a row, thus settling for third in the pool. Still, the two teams are headed to the Qualification to Semi-Finals scheduled on Wednesday, September 17.
Joanne Giovanni led Team Indonesia with 16 points, spiked by a perfect 4-for-4 clip from beyond the arc. Florenza Celesta finished with another double-double as she collected 13 points and 14 rebounds plus 2 blocks.
Giovanni was also key in putting the game out of reach after the home team got to within 12 early in the final frame, making both of her free throws to spark a mini 6-0 run to restore order, 60-42, with 2:29 left.
FIBA