AHMEDABAD (India) - Japan and Korea continued their winning ways in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 after taking care of business against their respective foes at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium, Sunday night.
The Japanese cruised past Kazakhstan toward the 81-45 victory that's highlighted by a 25-5 barrage in the final period, before the 4-time champions blew out India, 90-61, as both teams hiked their records to 2-0.
With that, their meeting on Tuesday, August 18, at 13:30 local time will be a battle for the no. 1 spot in Group D, which merits an automatic qualification to the Quarter-Finals scheduled on August 21.
It will be a rematch of not just their Classification 5-8 encounter during the 2024 edition in Jordan, but also of the 2022 Final in Iran. The Koreans won on both occasions, albeit by just an average of 4.0 points.
Alex McMillian led Japan with 16 points and 12 rebounds against their CABA counterparts. Kenichiro Benedict scattered 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, with Eishin Konno scoring 14 as well alongside 8 rebounds.
Kaito Nakamura and Roi Honda chipped in 10 points apiece in the 36-point victory, which the squad as a whole made possible by shooting 40.9-percent from the field and by winning the battle of the boards, 54-43.
Kazakhstan were led by Darim Sultanov with 15 points. Sayan Mamutov was his lone support with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the loss, which saw the young Steppen Wolves trail 21-3 to open the bout, never to recover.
In the final game of the day, Korea used a similar strong start to set the tone for the rout against the host nation, roaring to a 19-7 lead before pulling away for good just before the first quarter came to a close.
Eom Jihoo led the way with an all-around showing of 17 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Yoon Jihon fell just short of a double-double output, as he finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Park Taejoon and Kweon Daehyeon supplied 12 each, with Yoon Jiwon adding a 10-3-5 line in the win, where Team Korea knocked down 11 triples and showed conscious effort in rotating the ball, leading to 26 dimes.
Arman served as one of the few bright spots for India with a game-high 25 points. Ansh Tomer was the only other player in double figures as he tallied 14 points and 9 rebounds in another deflating defeat for the home team.
India and Kazakhstan will fight for the 3rd spot in the group in the final game of the Group Phase on Tuesday as well, scheduled for a 07:30 local time tip-off. Winner will advance to the Qualification to Quarter-Finals.
FIBA