BENGALARU (FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship 2017) - The FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship 2017 is about to tip off. The first four editions of the tournament have seen a dominance from China with three titles and one third placed finish. With the action tipping off in Bengaluru in a couple of days, fiba.basketball went back into its archives to re-live the four previous tournaments.

2009: China roll to inaugural title 

China started the FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship 2009 with a 109-point victory over Hong Kong and never slowed down, finishing off the inaugural edition with a 99-86 win over Japan in the Final. China rolled through Group A with an average winning margin of 80.2 points. Japan were just as impressive in Group B, winning their five games by 76.4 points. In the Semi-Finals, China brushed aside Korea 110-42 with Yu Dong hitting for 21 points. Japan booked their spot in the title game with a 79-49 win over Chinese Taipei as Naoko Chikahira picked up 18 points. The Final of the two Asian powers was set up and it lived up to its billing for three quarters before China pulled away in the final 10 minutes for a 99-86 win. Li Meng scored 26 points for China and Yu added 22 points for the champs while Japan could not turn Rina Hill's 28 points into a win. Chinese Taipei beat Korea 66-63 for third place. 

2011: Japan claim first crown

Japan tipped off the second edition of the tournament with a win over China but Japan finished off their undefeated run to the title by beating Korea in the Final. The finalists from the previous U16 tournament faced off on Day 1 in the Level I Group Phase with Japan prevailing 92-87 as the trio of Ai Yamada, Yunika Nakamura and Sakura Sakai combined for 60 points. Both Japan and China finished the rest of group play undefeated, Japan winning by 42.5 points per game and China's average winning margin being 64.4 points. In the first Semi-Final, Korea took a big lead in the second quarter and held on to beat China 79-78 - the only time Korea have beaten Japan or China in the four editions of this tournament. The win was all the more impressive with the tournament taking place in Jinan, China. Kim Sion poured in 28 points and Shin Jihyun hit for 20 points for Korea. Japan did not have any trouble with Chinese Taipei, winning 84-55 with Yamada scoring 22 points and Evelyn Mawuli picking up 20 points. With China out of the way - and bronze winners with a 105-69 victory over Chinese Taipei - Japan cruised to their first U16 title with a 102-56 win over Korea as Mawuli paced six players in double figures with 17 points.

2013: China return to the summit

China bounced back from a Group Phase loss to Japan and beat the Japanese in the Final to return to the top of the podium with their second U16 title. After knocking off Korea and India to start the tournament in Sri Lanka, China suffered their first defeat with a 75-59 loss to Japan. Tamami Nakada scored 22 points for Japan while Zou Qijia had 18 points in the loss. China and Japan both won their final two group games, meaning they could not meet again until the Final. Wang Haimei had 19 points and Dilana Dilishati scored 17 as China beat Korea in the Semi-Finals 81-55. Six players scored in double figures for Japan in a 99-60 blasting of Chinese Taipei. After Korea beat Chinese Taipei 86-64 for the bronze, China came back from a slow start to beat Japan 62-50 in the Final for their second U16 title in three editions. Japan took the first quarter 17-9 but China roared back for a 21-10 second quarter and grabbed the win thanks to 10 points each from Wang and Dilana as well as nine points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists from Zhang Manman.  

2015: China repeat in undefeated fashion

China used some tough defense to capture their second straight U16 title - and third in four editions - finishing off the deal with another win over Japan in the Final. China and Japan rolled early in the tournament, winning their first three Group Phase games by 47.7 points and 54.3 points, respectively. China shut down Japan in group play 61-47, allowing just 15 points in the second half. Li Yueru led the way with 26 points and 22 rebounds for China. The two powers both finished the group with a win, setting up a possible showdown in the Final. Li scored 20 points as China did their part to reach the title game with an 89-46 win over Chinese Taipei. Japan followed suit with 14 points from Haruki Takahara and 11 points and 11 rebounds from June Mineharu in a 64-55 triumph over Korea. After Korea beat Chinese Taipei 60-52 for the bronze, China took care of business in the Final, beating Japan 95-72 thanks to a monster double-double of 31 points and 18 rebounds from Li and 27 points from Wang Jiaqi. Japan wasted 31 points from Izumi Abe. China allowed just 48.4 points a game in taking their third crown in four editions of the FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship.

FIBA