BANGKOK (Thailand) - Four teams are left standing but only two of them can move on and vie for promotion as the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2026-Division B Semi-Finals get going this Saturday at the Nimibutr Stadium.
Action begins at 16:00 local time, with Lebanon and Indonesia tipping things off before India and Kazakhstan battle it out in the other bracket of the knockout stages' highly awaited penultimate round at 18:30.
India and Lebanon were the first to reach the Semi-Finals outright by virtue of finishing atop Groups A and B, respectively, with 3-0 records, while their foes had to go through the Qualification to Semi-Finals Friday.
The young Timnas became the third team to qualify following a convincing 94-49 victory over Samoa, and the champions of CABA would go on to complete the four-team cast by charging past Thailand, 62-34.
Both of these teams actually finished 2nd in their pools, only losing to the eventual no. 1 teams in the Group Phase's final day - Indonesia got blown out by India, while Kazakhstan fell short versus the Lebanese.
And so, their victories in the Qualification to Semi-Finals could be more beneficial for them than being a platform to advance, as it also helped both teams to get their confidence back entering Saturday's important matches.
Indonesia and Kazakhstan, before those losses, both started the tourney with back-to-back wins.
But it would be intriguing to see, too, how they'd fare against the squads that possess fresher legs, since they bought themselves the luxury of extra rest after booking direct flights en route to the Semi-Finals.
Another layer that adds more curiosity to the upcoming bouts are the programs' own motivations. Indonesia, for one, are hoping to win it all to return to Division A after being relegated during the 2024 tilt in China.
The same goes for India, who struggled to keep the Division A promotion they earned in 2018 as they got sent back to the second level after a disappointing campaign during the 2022 competitions in Bengaluru.
Lebanon, for their part, are hoping to finish the story this time around after settling for 2nd behind the Philippines in 2024 - a story similar to that of Kazakhstan as they, too, lost in the Div. B Final to India in 2018.
Meanwhile, commencing Saturday's action is the Classification 5-6 duel between host nation Thailand and Samoa at 13:30 local time. The Cook Islands had earlier secured 7th place after mauling Oman.
FIBA