NONTHABURI (FIBA U18 Asian Championship 2018) - The tone is set for the FIBA U18 Asian Championship as the players expressed their enthusiasm and excitement for the prospect of the tournament up ahead.

As the teams arrived in Thailand, the participating players were full of energy and ready for the competition which will be held from 5-11 August.

Only Amirhossein Razaeifar remains from the 2016 championship squad, but Iran has been preparing for the longest of time to return to the FIBA U18 Asian Championship and win it all.

"We are excited to play in this tournament. This is the highest level in Asia and it's a great honor to play here." says Ehsan Dalirzahan of Iran. "We have been playing and practicing for almost three years together and from the beginning, we had the goal to play in this tournament."

"We have same mental approach [as the last time we won]," says Razaeifar. "We are coming to win it because for the past three years as [Ehsan] said, we have been practicing for the same goal."

Host nation Thailand has been busy preparing for the tournament and not only are they looking to perform well on the court, they are also looking to have a good time and entertain the home crowd to good games.

"Yeah, it’s been a good time," Thailand's Aaron Saharat Wadman says of the experience. "It's really enjoyable to have a good time with the team and friends."

"We’ll try our best to at least take home a win for Thailand."

Flynn Cameron of U18 newcomers New Zealand might very well be one of the most experienced players and he hopes that experience will help his team qualify for another FIBA U19 World Championship.

"It's really fun representing your country," Cameron says. "Not only that this is a step right before we take the [Seniors] so its really fun looking forward to it."

"Just following through with our leaders [last time]," he added. "Our team was basically a close tight-knit group. I’m just trying to recreate what we had with that team for this team and I feel like  we can be a lot closer."

Fellow teammate on the Junior Tall Blacks, Max Darling, shared Cameron's pride for representing the country.

"It's an honor to represent my country again," Darling said. "We got a good group of boys and it's been really fun so far even though the tournament hasn’t started yet."

Australian star Tamuri Wigness is just as sparked up for the tournament, looking forward to a chance to shine at a higher level after starring in the U16 Asian Championship and U17 World Championship earlier this year.

"It's real fun to play at a different age group with the boys i’ve been pretty much living with," Wigness expressed. "I'm really excited. Just to show that I could show my talents against older kids in a different age group."

Wigness is also expecting to have a good time with the Emus as they look to dominate another tournament.

"So far it has been real fun. Mostly I’ve been playing with these boys on a daily basis."

11-time champions China are ready to rise back on the scene with a close group of well-prepared players.

"It’s very honorable to represent Team China," says Guo Haowen. "I want to play and get a good result for Team China."

Exciting Chinese big man prospect, Wang Quanze, has been having a good time preparing with the team in training camp and he expects to have even more fun with the games commence.

"It's definitely fun," Quanze says. "It’s a great experience for our team and personally I’m super excited. It’s my first time representing Team China and we’re all excited to play in the tournament."

"I reported to the team last month. We practiced for a little bit more than a month and everyone’s friends with each other, the team chemistry is good, everything's good."

"The most fun on the court is definitely winning so if we win, we'll definitely have fun."

Chinese-Taipei's star Jonah Morrison has big hopes for his team in the tournament.

"Actually, we’re taking it step by step because we’re hoping we can get the first two wins against India and Korea since Korea has been on of the top 4 teams for the past four years," Morrison said. "So we’re hoping we can beat them but first thing is to get to the next round then we’ll start talking from there."

The highly-touted twin towers of the Philippines, AJ Edu and Kai Sotto, are both very hyped an excited to play.

"I’m very excited," says Edu. "This is my first time playing [5-on-5] for the Philippines. It is something I’ve been looking forward to for a while now. I just can’t wait to get going."

"I can’t wait to play my first game," Sotto added. "It’s very fun, hanging out with my teammates. It’s gonna be very memorable for me and for us."

The strong Korean National Team have always been among contenders in the U18 level and the same is expected from this group led by Hyunjung Lee and Minseok Cha.

"This tournament, my goal is to win the Finals," Cha proclaims. "When I went to U16 [Asian Championship], we didn't get the ticket [to the U17 World Cup] so this time I really want to get it."

"In this team, we are the best twelve in Korea so we are proud of the fact that we came from all over the place to win."

"We harmonize very well," Lee adds. "We play together very well, we have good team work and I love that. 

The FIBA U18 Asian Championship is about to tipoff and all of the competitors are ready! Are you ready to watch them play? 

FIBA