BANGKOK, Thailand (FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women 2016) – Japan prevailed in a battle of East Asian powers, knocking off Korea, 63-41, to to punch the ticket to the FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women 2016 Final on Saturday.

The win also enabled the Japanese to get a measure of revenge for loss to Korea in the group stages earlier this week.

Captain Stephanie Mawuli led Japan with 14 points, while Park JiSu scored a game-high 18 points for the losing side. She also had 14 rebounds.

Turning point: Korea were leading, 15-6, late in the first quarter, but Japan's 11-0 run between the end of the first quarter and early second quarter allowed coach Hitoshi Takahashi's team to take the lead and even go on to increase it after half-time.

Stats don’t lie: Incredibly enough, Japan made 13 steals in the game, forcing Korea to commit 28 turnovers in the process. The Akatsuki Five also had better bench production. Japan's bench scored 24 points of which 11 were scored by Yukino Awatsu, while the whole Korean bench scored only 9. 

Game hero: Despite not leading the team in scoring, Japan’s Akaho Himawari was the most efficient player for Japan, scoring 6 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals in 29 minutes of action. Team captain Stephanie Mawuli had team-high 14 points in the game.

The bottom line: Revenge was, indeed, sweet for Japan, who are once again in the Final of the FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women. Even more payback may be in store, though, as their probable opponents tomorrow are the mighty Chinese, who have beaten the Japanese in the last three editions of this tournament.

FIBA