BENGALURU (FIBA U16 Women's Asia Championship 2017) - Many promising young female players will be showcased in Bengaluru starting tomorrow as four slots to the FIBA U17 Women's World Cup are up for grabs.

Getting those berths will be the paramount concern, of course, but China will also be playing for their fourth U16 Women's Asia title overall. It will certainly much more difficult this time around, however, especially with Oceania powerhouses Australia and New Zealand making appearances.

One talented Chinese lady to watch is Liu Yutong, who already played for China at the 2015 edition of this competition and the FIBA U17 Women's World Cup 2016. At 1.95m, Liu will be much bigger than most players in this tournament, and she will surely be a vital cog in China's plan to ascend to the cummit once more.

Speaking of talented U16 players, others to keep tabs on are Shyla Heal and Kelsey Rees, both of whom were among Australia's top players at the FIBA U17 Women's Oceania Championship a few months ago. New Zealand also have some players to watch, like twin towers Paris Lokotui and Ella Bradley, who are both 1.82m tall. Age group MVP Isabelle Cook is also expected to break out in a big way.

Japan, too, will be top-heavy, with 1.81m Maya McArthur, 1.81m Sakura Noguchi and 1.77m Lina Nakazawa spearheading their frontline. Korea, meanwhile, are hoping to contend behind the exploits of versatile wingman Jung YeRim and triple towers Park SeongEun, Lee HaeRan and Choi MinJu.

Another exciting aspect of this tournament is how all eight teams of Division A will advance to the Quarter-Finals. This poses interesting matchups in the knockout phase, increasing the excitement and ensuring that every game will be highly competitive.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this competition, though, is the participation of reigning U17 Women's World Champions Australia. The youth Opals beat Italy in Zaragoza last year to win the world title, dethroning the United States in the process. Add to that the fact that China also finished among the top four teams in the U17 Women's World Championship last year, and this is the first time that two of the top four teams in the world will be playing at the continental level in any FIBA Asia tournament.

If that does not get you pumped, then I don't know what will.

FIBA