BANGKOK (Thailand) - Indonesia punched their ticket to the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2026-Division B Semi-Finals following a 94-49 romp of Samoa on Friday evening at the Nimibutr Stadium.
The young Timnas began to seize control late in the opening period, and broke away wide come the third canto with a 20-9 spurt as their counterparts from Oceania couldn't gather any steam to fight back.
Eventually, the competitors from SEABA would roll toward the penultimate phase, where they will be taking on the unbeaten Lebanon tomorrow, Saturday, July 18, for a chance to compete for Division A promotion.
They're set to lock horns with a Cedars side that's actually the very first to qualify for the Semi-Finals by finishing as the no. 1 team in Group B with a clean 3-0 record, capped by a 66-59 thriller versus Kazakhstan.
Five players finished in double figures in the win, with Joanne Giovanni and Yemima Rahiesa leading the pack with almost identical numbers as they finished with 15 points apiece and combined for 10 rebounds.
The tandem formed a three-headed assault with Praisey Blessed and put together a 12-2 run to turn a narrow two-point lead to 26-14 lead before the end of the opening period - the run that put them ahead for good.
Giovanni was also responsible for taking the fight out of their foes' sails in the third, knocking down a trifecta that triggered a 10-0 run to push their lead to 70-43 late in the period as the game would never be in doubt.
Welly supplied 14 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists. Ariqa Chayyara made 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals, while Chloe Cung had 10. Blessed added a 7-7-3 stat line alongside 7 of their 26 steals in the win.
Reaching the Semi-Finals, without a doubt, serves as a major step toward Indonesia's goal of returning to Division A after being relegated to the second level when they finished 8th in the 2024 tilt in China.
Mikayla Auva'a and Tyra Lee-Hang had 14 points apiece to lead Samoa, who will try to salvage a 5th-place finish against the losing team between Kazakhstan and Thailand in the Classification 5-6 tomorrow as well.
Kazakhstan and Thailand are set to wrap up the Qualification to Semi-Finals round later tonight at 18:30 local time, with the winner setting up a meeting with India, Group A's top team with a 3-0 record, in the Semi-Finals.
Meanwhile, the Cook Islands finished 7th in the tilt following a 125-14 victory in the Classification 7-8.
FIBA