DOHA (Qatar) - Australia and New Zealand are the FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2023 Finalists after convincing wins in the Semi-Finals of the competition.

New Zealand are bound for their first-ever FIBA U16 Asian Championship Final appearance with convincing win over China, while Australia will play in their third straight final after another big win over the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Iran put themselves in a position for their best final standing since 2009 after beating Qatar snf Japan bounce back to beat Jordan in Classification games.

Iran rout Qatar for second time

In their second game against each other in the FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2013, Iran defeat Qatar with a score of 83-56. Earlier in the Group Phase, Iran had already beaten Qatar 86-65.

Coach Mohammad Reza Eslami saw his side lead by as much as 31 points and never trailed throughout the entire game. Majid Alaei Khosroshahi led Iran with 25 points while Iman Valizadeh added 22 points.

Mohamed Ndao shined for Qatar once again with 23 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, and 6 blocks for an EFF of 30.

Iran are now guaranteed to finish at least 6th place in the competition, which will be their best since 2013 when they also finished 6th. However, they can still finish at 5th with a win in their final game.

Japan bounce back, beat Jordan

After a Quarter-Final loss, Japan regroup to beat Jordan 72-58.

The young Akatsuki Japan team lead by as much as 25 points late in the third quarter and, despite Jordan's effort to rally in the final minutes, were able to hold on to the lead to the final buzzer.

It was another tough shooting game for Japan who shot only 31.4 percent from the floor, but their domination on the offensive glass (23 offensive rebounds) and fast pace (20 fast break points) made sure that wouldn't be an issue. Led by Ginga Sembo (12 points), Japan had 3 players score in double-digits.

Omar Hijazi led Jordan in scoring again with 21 points on a highly efficient 11 attempts.

New Zealand stand tall, headed for first Final appearance

In their third attempt, New Zealand finally break through to play in the Final of the U16 Asian Championship with a win over China 86-69.

The Junior Tall Blacks roared to a 13-0 run early in the first quarter and maintained the intensity through to the end to claim their victory. They enjoyed another fantastic game from Lachlan Crate who had 23 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals in the victory.

China's offense struggled in this game, shooting only 32.9 percent from the field and 19.4 percent from beyond the three-point line - both below their aversges in the competition so far. With leading scorer Boyuan Zhang limited to only 8 points, Sinan Huan led China in scoring with 11 while also adding 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in the process.

Crocs continue domination, secure third straight Final appearance

Australia end the Philippines' inspiring run in a 92-36 win to make it to the Final for a third consecutive time in as many appearances in the competition.

The Crocs seemed as if they were out to prove a point, holding Batang Gilas to only 10 points in the first half - the least amount of points allowed by Australia in the first half so far in this competition.

Dash Daniels mentioned how Australia are handling the pressure of being title contenders and they continue to prove themselves of handling those expectations well. Daniels finished the game with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks.

This was also the fourth out of five games where all players got on the scoreboard for the Crocs. However, they saw their streak of scoring at least 100 points snapped.

Australia now have the opportunity to tie China's all-time record of U16 Asian Championship titles 

Upcoming games

Classification 7-8

Jordan vs Qatar - 11:30 (GMT +3)

Classification 5-6

Japan vs Iran - 14:30 (GMT +3)

Third Place Game

Philippines vs China - 17:00 (GMT +3)

Final

Australia vs New Zealand - 19:30 (GMT +3)

Daily Highs

Efficiency: 30 - Mohamed Ndao (QAT), Majid Alaei Khosroshahi (IRI)
Points: 25 -Majid Alaei Khosroshahi (IRI)
Rebounds: 15 - Mohamed Ndao (QAT)
Assists: 6 - Multiple players
Steals: 4 - Lachlan Crate (NZL), Alexander Dickeson (AUS)
Blocks: 6 - Mohamed Ndao (QAT)

Results and Fixtures

Classification 5-8

Qatar vs Iran - 56-83
Jordan vs Japan - 58-72

Semi-Finals

New Zealand vs China - 86-69
Australia vs Philippines - 92-36

FIBA