By experience and pedigree, American Chennedy Carter towers above everyone else in the FIBA-Women’s Basketball League Asia.
A former WNBA player and the only one in the tournament, the 27-year-old has been one of the top scorers for Sichuan Yuanda Meile (China) in the league at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here. Against KB Stars in the semifinals on Saturday, Carter appeared to play every role, switching between guard, shooting guard and even power forward.
Carter (31 points), ably supported by Australia’s Sara Blicavs (22) and captain Song Gao (21), powered Sichuan to a 93-74 win over KB Stars, taking the Chinese side into its second final in three WBLA editions—it last won the title in the inaugural edition in 2024. Carter also made her presence felt on the boards, collecting five rebounds and dishing out five assists.
Denso Iris (Japan) faced a stiff challenge from Cathay Life Tigers (Chinese Taipei) before emerging triumphant 86-78 in the other semifinal to set up a final against Sichuan on Sunday. Maki Takada, the 37-year-old Olympic medallist and centre, starred for Iris, finishing as its top-scorer with 20 points.
Earlier, Indian Railways suffered its third successive defeat to finish sixth and last in the tournament, losing to Akari Sparks (Philippines) 86-56.
The results: semifinals: Sichuan Yuanda Meile (China) 93 (Chennedy Carter 31, Sara Blicavs 22, Song Gao 22) bt KB Stars 74 (Yunjeong Na 22, Yunha Song 15, Yaeun Heo 15).
Denso Iris 86 (Maki Takada 20, Sokhna Sylla 12, Haruna Kasagi 12, Mnami Yabu 10) bt Cathay Life Tigers 78 (Penina Davidson 30, Shelby Cheyanne Cheslek 14).
5th-6th place match: Akari Sparks 86 (Bre’Amber Shakira Scott 25, Saicha Patricia Grant-Allen 24) bt Indian Railways 56 (Pushpa Senthil Kumar 13, Harima Sundhari Munishkannan 13).
Published - October 24, 2026 09:12 pm IST