AHMEDABAD (India) - India completed the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 Final Phase casting by sending Kazakhstan packing, 82-61, to wrap up the Group Phase on Tuesday night at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium.
The host nation began to take control in the second quarter before breaking away permanently in the ensuing period en route to nailing their breakthrough win after a poor 0-2 start into the tournament.
And this win couldn't be more important, as it enabled the SABA Qualifiers champions to punch their ticket to the Qualification to Quarter-Finals, which is scheduled this Thursday, August 20, in the same battleground.
They accomplished as much by virtue of finishing third in Group D with a 1-2 record.
Korea topped the pool with a 3-0 record following a 67-64 come-from-behind win against Japan earlier in a clash between erstwhile unbeaten sides, with Yoon Jihoon scoring 9 of his 27 points in the fourth.
Team India will be taking on the second-best team of Group C in Iran (2-1) in the play-in to the knockout stages' second round, hoping of course to pull off an upset of epic proportions against the 3-time champions.
Piyush Choudhary starred in the win with 25 points and 8 rebounds, alongside 4 assists, 4 steals, and a block to submit a full line in the 39 minutes he saw action, allowing himself to net a game-high efficiency of 29.
He already had 17 to his tally in just the first half, capped by a triple - his only outside shot the whole night - that gave themselves a 45-36 lead entering the intermission, sparking the pullaway not long after.
Ansh Tomer finished with a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds. Arman supplied 13 points and 8 rebounds, with Shekhar Rathee doing a little bit of everything with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, and 7 steals.
On the other hand, Sayan Mamutov had 24 points for Kazakhstan, who exited with a 0-3 record.
FIBA