Kazakhstan women dominate CABA Qualifiers to book Thailand berth; two Kyrgyz players earn All-Tournament honors

Kazakhstan's U-18 women swept the FIBA U-18 Women's Asia Cup CABA Qualification tournament held March 27-29 at the Sana Sport complex in Astana, winning both their games by commanding margins to secure the Central Asian sub-zone's berth at the FIBA U-18 Women's Asia Cup in Thailand this September.
The three-team round-robin featured Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The hosts were never challenged, opening with a 75-34 victory over Kyrgyzstan before dispatching Uzbekistan 89-41 in the decisive final game. Shahida Erlan was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after leading Kazakhstan's dominant two-game sweep.
Uzbekistan finished second, earning the runners-up spot ahead of Kyrgyzstan, who finished third and were unable to qualify for the continental championship. However, the Kyrgyz squad had reason for pride — two of their players were selected to the All-Tournament Team, recognition of their individual quality despite the team's results.
The All-Tournament Five featured players from all three participating nations: Amina Sharipova (170-G-2008) (Kazakhstan) alongside MVP Erlan, Elizaveta Cherovaneva and Polina Koshelkova from Kyrgyzstan, and Munirakhon Khalikova (156-F-2009) and Muharramoy Abdukarimova from Uzbekistan.