BENGALURU (India) - Sichuan Yuanda Meile booked a return trip to the FIBA Women's Basketball League Asia Final following a 93-74 rout of Cheongju KB in the 2026 Semi-Finals on Saturday evening.
The Pandas got off to a solid start but it wasn't the fourth quarter where they'd pull away for good to leave their no-quit foes behind, giving themselves an opportunity to bring home their second title in this league.
It could be recalled that the WCBA powerhouse emerged as the inaugural champions of the premier women's club competition in Asia by ruling the 2024 edition - held in the city of Chengdu - through a mighty 3-game sweep.
Now they have a chance to pull off another golden sweep, as they're coming into the Big Dance unbeaten thus far, having swept all of their 2 games in Group A before crushing the hopes of their WKBL counterparts.
Sichuan will now wait for the winner between Denso and Cathay Life in the other Semi-Finals bracket to determine their foes in the Final on Sunday. The Iris-Tigers clash is set to tip off later tonight at 19:00 local time.
"We will try our best to get it," simply said Coach Yang Yi.
Chennedy Carter led the way with 31 points, 23 of which she made in just the first half, alongside 5 rebounds and 5 assists plus 1 steal and 2 blocks.
Sara Blicavs registered a double-double of 21 points and 16 rebounds, as she and the WNBA veteran helped restore order during the final period when the opposition got to as close as 11 during the frame prior.
Gao Song made 22 points and 4 rebounds, with Jia Saqi adding 9 points - including a tough trey under duress to push their lead back to 80-59 with 7:54 left which wowed the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium crowd.
"They gave us a lot of challenges offensively and defensively," offered veteran forward Gao regarding their gritty Korean opponents. "But you know, through the effort of the whole team, we won the game."
Na Yunjeong led Cheongju with 22 points, 8 of which she made in the fourth.
Song Yunha made 15 points and 8 rebounds. Heo Yeeun added 15 as well for the Stars, who can still salvage a podium finish when they take on either Denso or Cathay Life in the Third-Place Game on Sunday.
FIBA