BENGALURU (India) - Australia take control in second half claim first FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship, ending China’s run as five-time consecutive defending champions. Meanwhile, Japan won in the first game of the day in Division A to finish at 3rd place.

Akatsuki Japan bounced back from a heartbreaking loss to China in the Semi-Finals to handily beat Chinese Taipei, 77-54.

The two teams battled tightly in the first half with Japan leading by only 3 points at halftime. However, Chinese Taipei were held to only 10 points in the entire second half which allowed Japan to cruise to a spot on the podium.

Japan’s star Chinami Yokoyama had another solid game with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals in the win. Japan as a team forced Chinese Taipei into 34 turnovers which they converted into 38 points.

Similary, the Final was closely competed in the first half before the Gems broke away in the last half to win, 81-55.

Australia dominated in the paint, outrebounding China 56-26 and outscoring China 54-34 in the paint. It’s no surprise that star center Isla Juffermans filled up the statsheet, putting up 26 points on 12-15 shooting along with 15 rebounds and 3 steals. Dallas Loughridge also had her best game of the competition with 17 points and 8 assists to help the Gems clinch the title.

With their usual stars struggling against Australia’s defense, Wang Jing stepped up for China to score 16 points and grab 5 rebounds.

This is Australia’s first ever U18 Women’s Asian Championship after finishing at 3rd place in 2018. It is also the first time since 2008 that China haven’t won the title, though they have played in every Final of the competition since 1992 when the competition was called the Asian Championship for Junior Women.

FIBA