Kazakhstan's women's basketball team opened its campaign at the 20th Summer Asian Games in Japan with a heavy loss to the Philippines, 58-86 (9-25, 23-24, 8-27, 18-10), according to infohub.kz.
Thursday proved successful for the Kazakh delegation at the Asian Games, which have not yet officially begun: the women's volleyball team defeated the Philippines 3-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. In basketball, however, the Philippines exacted convincing revenge.
Our team led only twice. Early in the game, Darya Koroleva's shot found the target to make it 2-0. The Philippines responded in kind. Anna Bezgodova then made one of two free throws to put Kazakhstan ahead 3-2.
After the opponents went ahead 4-3, they steadily extended their lead and won the first quarter 25-9. By halftime, our girls trailed by 17 points, 32-49. Before the final period, the deficit had reached 36 points, 40-76. Kazakhstan won the last quarter 18-10, but ultimately fell by 28 points, 58-86.
On September 20, Boris Fatkulin's squad will face the Asian Games hosts, and on the 22nd they will play Hong Kong. The top two teams from each of the three groups advance to the playoffs, plus two of the three third-place teams.
Group A features China, Indonesia, and Thailand. Group C consists of South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Mongolia, and Malaysia.
ASIAN GAMES 2026. Basketball. Women. Group A: Indonesia vs Thailand 61-52. Group B: Philippines vs Kazakhstan 86-58.
Throughout the history of the Asian Games, only three countries have won gold in women's basketball: China, South Korea, and Japan. Kazakhstan has finished fifth four times (1994, 1998, 2014, 2018). At the previous Asian Games, our girls placed 12th, while China won gold.
The 20th Summer Asian Games in Japan will officially open on September 19. The multi-sport event, featuring athletes from 45 countries, will award 460 sets of medals: 217 in men's events, 204 in women's, and 39 in mixed events. Competitions will be held in 68 disciplines across 41 sports.
Kazakhstan's team at the 2026 Asian Games will include 559 athletes. The men's basketball team has already finished its performances in Japan after losing three matches.