MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on My Mind) - Rising stars have planted their flags in Bengaluru for the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Championship, serving notice that the future is bright for Asian women's basketball.

Here, I'll write about some of the most impressive players at the biennial competition so far. Watch out because these are the names we'll probably read about more often as the years go by.

Charlisse Trinity Leger-Walker (New Zealand)

It's hard enough to average a double-double in any tournament, but even more so when you're a 1.74m guard. That, however, is exactly what Leger-Walker is doing for New Zealand. She currently leads the entire field with 20.0 points per game and is third overall in rebounding with 11.3 boards per contest. It looks like the Tall Ferns may have found a gem in this young lady.

Wan Jiyuan (China)

Wan was splending in China's first two games, averaging 16.5 points in their two wins over Hong Kong and Thailand. She was checked, though, when China lost to Japan on Day 3, putting up just 6 points in 2-of-5 shooting. Even at just 15 years old, she is already one of the team's most versatile players, and her level of play will be crucial in how far the defending champions advance.

Maika Miura (Japan)

The Japanese are known for using speed, skill and shooting to beat opponents, and those are traits we've seen in the diminutive Miura. The 1.66m wing player has been nothing short of outstanding for the Akatsuki Five, leading them in scoring through their first three games with a 14.3 average. Her ability to hit shots from practically anywhere (she hits just under 59% of her attempts) has been a great boost for Japan in their sweep of Group B.

Nnenna Agnes Emma-Nnopu (Australia)

Na GeumBi (Korea)

GeumBi is Korea's ace in this competition. She has been the team's most dangerous outside threat - hitting 2.0 threes per game - and has been their default go-to scorer. Though she makes only 31.4% of her field goals, she can catch fire in the blink of an eye, so no opponent should take her presence for granted. If she goes off, she can create a helluva lot of problems for Korea's foes.

Liu Yutong (China)

Perhaps the most imposing player so far in Bengaluru has been Yutong, what with her wide build and her being 1.95m tall. Not surprisingly, she has dominated in the paint, averaging 16.3 points and a tournament-best 13.0 rebounds per game. Entering the Quarter-Finals, Yutong will be one of the players to really watch out for, especially if China make it to the Semi-Final in a likely matchup with powerhouse Australia.

Sakura Noguchi (Japan)

Noguchi is undersized at the center spot relative to most of the other bigs in the competition, but at 1.81m, she's no slouch either. She has also found a way to utilize her other assets like her quickness and agility to disrupt opponents' attacks and score on the offensive end as well. She currently puts up 11.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game, underscoring her impressive versatility for a Japanese squad billed to be one of the title contenders.

Look out for the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Championship 2017 Quarter-Finals today! Watch the games here.

Enzo Flojo

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.