DOHA (Qatar) - Japan advance to play in their first ever U16 Asian Championship Final to face defending champions Australia after both teams claimed wins in the Semi-Finals today.

The first team to confirm their spot in the Final were Japan as they cruised to a 99-79 win over New Zealand. Japan went on an 11-0 run to end the first quarter, building a lead big enough to withstand whatever runs New Zealand had left.

Yuto Kawashima had yet another big game for Japan, arguably his best so far in the competition. In this game, Kawashima scored a 38 points, most by any player so far and 5th most in the history of the competition.

New Zealand fought back with the stellar play of Nic Book who had 25 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.

Meanwhile, Australia also went nearly wire to wire with the lead on the way to a 85-51 win over Lebanon.

The Crocs held the young Cedars to only one point for the first 6 minutes of the game, going on an 18-0 run in the process. Lebanon had some short bursts and rallies to keep the lead from going out of hand, but Australia were in full control.

It was a team effort as usual for Australia as all players saw at least 10 minutes of playing team with nearly everyone getting on the scoreboard. Jacob Furphy led all scorers with 15. Rocco Zikarsky and Roman Siulepa also added in double-digit scoring with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

As a result of these games, Japan and Australia will face each other in the FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2022 Final. The game will be played 16 June at 8:15 PM (GMT +3).

This will be Japan’s first time playing in a U16 Asian Championship Final, although they have finished at third place twice. Australia will be defending their title, looking to make it 2 straight championships in as many appearances in the competition.