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.
*This article will be updated.