Semi-Finals all set in Bangkok
BANGKOK, Thailand (FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women 2016) - Four East Asian teams will battle for two tickets to the FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women 2016 Final, the action in Friday's Semi-Finals promises to be packed with excitement.
Korea vs Japan
The first semi-final game will see rivals Korea and Japan battle it out one again. There’s not much to separate between these two teams, especially after witnessing the close game they had earlier in the Championship. Korea got the win that day thanks to their mighty defense led by Park Ji Su.
Despite the disappointing opening day loss to China, Korea went on to win four on the trot on way to finishing second in the group.
Japan, meanwhile, who enjoyed a 2-0 start to the championship, dropped to Korea before losing against China, but bounced back with a strong performance against India in their final game.
Head Coach Hitoshi Takahashi’s girls are fast and athletic and on their day, they can shoot like no one.
China vs Chinese Taipei
These two great East Asian rivals met two days ago where China emerged victorious, 93-48.
The reigning Champions won all of their five games and it will really take something extra special from Chinese Taipei to cause a major upset in this semi-final game and advance to the final for the first time since 2010.
Twin towers Li Yueru and Han Xu dominated in the paint in of China’s game. They were too much for the opposition defenses and their contributions were one of the reasons behind China’s dominating victories.
For Chinese Taipei, captain Peng Hsiao-Tong has been the key player in the team’s two wins so far in the Championship. She can do a little bit of everything on the court; The 18-year-old currently leads the team in scoring (11.8 PPG) and assists (4.8 APG) and is second in rebounding (5 RPG).
The 23rd FIBA Asia Championship for women is the qualifying event for the 2017 FIBA U19 Women’s World Championship, set to take place in Cairo, Egypt next year. The top three teams from the 23rd FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women will represent Asia at the 2017 FIBA U19 Women’s World Championship.
FIBA
