BANGKOK (Thailand) - India's hopes of going back to Division A of the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup rest on a roster mostly made up of players that put together a dominant run in Malaysia some 10 months ago.
With familiarity and growth in mind, deployed to the Thai capital were the same nucleus of the team that ruled the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Cup 2025-Division B to bring the program to the event's top-flight level.
"There are about seven of us," said Viha Jonnalagadda.
There are indeed 7 from that unit honed by the legendary Anitha Pauldurai. Joining the 16-year-old are Reva Kulkarni, Nethra Birudavolu, Mahek Sharma, Vaishnavi Pardeshi, Aditi Subramanian, and Angelina George.
These hoopers helped Team India to a strong 5-game sweep of the tournament, punctuated by a pulsating 67-66 victory over an old foe in Iran in the Final to succeed in their bid of gaining another promotion.
Will they be able to pull it off in the U18 ranks?
Of course, they're aware that it's a whole different atmosphere. But they should be on track given how they've been playing in Bangkok thus far. In fact, they're marching on to the Semi-Finals - and in sweeping fashion, too.
On Wednesday, the crew of Coach Sarah Gayler completed their 3-game sweep of Group A with a resounding 76-49 win over Indonesia to secure the top spot - and the second of 2 outright tickets to the said stage.
What we achieved in the U16 was amazing. And we want to do that in the U18, too.
Jonnalagadda herself played a crucial role in conquering their SEABA counterparts, as she finished with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal in 22 minutes of action.
"I was comfortable. My teammates put me in great spots so I was just lucky," the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup SABA Qualifiers MVP and champion offered. "Everyone played really well, and it was a team effort."
After the Group Phase, she's now averaging 11.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 4.0 steals, clearly showing how comfortable she is in fulfilling an important role for the team - just like in the U16 meet.
There, the 1.82 M (5'11") forward was one of the tournament's best players, with solid per-game averages of 17.2 points - which was a team-best - along with 10.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.8 steals, and 3.0 blocks.
But she knows that all those figures won't mean a thing if they don't accomplish their mission.
"What we achieved in the U16 was amazing. And we want to do that in the U18, too," said Jonnalagadda, who's also experienced in the 3x3 stage. "We're just gonna try to carry that momentum here and get promoted."
They're just two wins away from gaining the ticket back to Division A - India ruled the second division in 2017 in Bengaluru but got relegated in 2022 - but none from them would want to get too far ahead whatsoever.
"It's just to go out there and play, and just win," said Jonnalagadda, as they all choose to stay on an even keel.
FIBA