Top FIBA U16 Asia players to watch next week!
MANILA (Enzo Flojo's Asia on My Mind) - The FIBA U16 Asia Championship will finally tip off next Monday, and these are the names and players we all need to keep tabs on.
The FIBA U16 Asia Championship, of course, has produced some of the best and brightest young stars in the continent. Ever since the event debuted in 2009, many of its alumni have risen through the ranks to become national team mainstays if not breakout stars. These include Guo Ailun, Lee JongHyun and Kiefer Ravena from the 2009 edition, towering NBA draftees Satnam Singh Bhamara and Zhou Qi from 2011, US NCAA standout Rui Hachimura and bona fide CBA star Hu Jinqiu from 2013 and then promising wingmen Lin Ting-Chien and Yang JaeMin from 2015.
This year's U16 Asia competition will certainly produce its own fair share of big names, especially with the addition of both Australia and New Zealand, both of which have players looking beyond their own borders and hoping for s shot at the NBA. This week, I'll detail a number of these budding young studs set to light up Foshan, China at the FIBA U16 Asia Championship.
Australia
- Tamuri Wigness, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, Hunter Clarke
- Australia have the most number of players in the NBA Global Academy team roster, and three of them are going to be among the Crocs who are heavy favorites to contend for the FIBA U16 Asia crown. Perhaps the biggest name of these three is Tamuri Wigness, a 6ft 0in (1.84m) point guard who has been described as the next coming of NBA champion Kyrie Irving. He is expected to razzle and dazzle in Foshan with his ball-handling, court vision, and ability to finish in traffic. Lo Buluk and Clarke, meanwhile, are two 6ft 5in (1.96m) wingmen set to impose their will on their respective opponents. Lo Buluk, who used to play for La Salle College in West Australia, is known as a vicious slasher, while Clarke, who plays in the United States for Campolindo High School, possesses a deadly outside shot.
China
Ito ka-match ni Kai Sotto. CHN's super center (some report him as 6'10, some report 7'1) Jiao Boqiao. Great footwork, physicality, and finishing. Should be a great matchup for Kai. #FIBAU16Asia pic.twitter.com/WLkQSIfn2u
— Enzo Flojo (@hoopnut) March 17, 2018
- Jiao Boqiao, Lu Pengyu, Sun Haoqin
- As always, China will be parading a lot of size for their team, and at the forefront will be Jiao Boqiao, who is officially listed as 6ft 10in (2.09m) despite some murmurings that he is actually already 7ft 1in (2.15m). Jiao should be a matchup nightmare for most anyone in the field, but that should not come as a shocker, especially with the Chinese carrying an average size of 6ft 5in (1.95m). Helping Jiao out will be wicked wingmen Lu Pengyu and Sun Haoqin. At 6ft 6in (1.97m), Lu should be a terrifying matchup for most Asian small forwards, while Sun is known for his ability to score in bunches, especially from long range.
Chinese Taipei
- Chen Li-Sheng, Lin Hsin-Hsiang, Chen Kuan-Chung
- Chinese Taipei were the surprise darlings of the FIBA U16 Asia Championship 2015, making their way to the Final for the first time in history and giving a very good account of themselves. They are hoping to match that magic again this year, and they will be led by yet another guard-oriented crew. The "double dragon" combination of Lin Hsin-Hsiang and Chen Kuan-Chung from NanSan High School will try to run rings around their opponents, while another diminutive spitfire, Chen Li-Sheng of JinHua High School, could be among the tournament's top scorers. Li-Sheng has drawn comparisons to another former Taipei youth standout - Kao Kuo-Hao, who was Chinese Taipei's leading scorer in the FIBA U18 Asia Championship 2016.
India
- Harshwardhan Tomar, Prince Pal Singh
- India have had a history of sending promising big men to this youth competition, and this edition is no different. Propping up India's frontline will be the twin tower tandem of Harshwardhan Tomar and Prince Pal Singh, both of whom stand 6ft 10in (2.08m). Tomar was part of the Stellazzurra Academy for Basketball in Italy in 2015 after his stint with India at the FIBA U16 Asia Championship 2015. Yes, Tomar, at the tender age of 16, is already considered an international veteran at this level. Prince Pal, meanwhile, shone brightly for India at the SABA U16 Championship 2017 in Nepal, averaging 32.0 points per game and being named Tournament MVP. He was also part of the Global Basketball Without Borders Camp this year through the joint efforts of FIBA and the NBA.
Iran
- Seyed Mortazavi, Matin Aghajanpour
- In the WABA U16 Championship 2017, Iran emerged champions, and they certainly want to duplicate that feat at the continental level. Iran have been a dominant force in Asian hoops since 2007, but they haven't been able to put that same kind of stamp at the U16 level, where they have finished on the podium only once and have never made it to the Final. Seyed Mortazavi and Matin Aghajanpour are hoping to change that. Mortazavi is a 6ft 8in (2.02m) big man who should be among the tournament's top scorers and rebounders. He normed 11.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game for Iran at WABA U16. Aghajanpour, meanwhile, is a versatile 6ft 6in (1.98m) forward who can bang bodies in the paint or shoot from long range. He put up around 11 points, 8 rebounds and 1.5 triples per contest at the WABA U16 joust. They should fill in the void left by ace U16 player Ali Reza Zeynalzadeh, who will miss this competition.
Japan
- Chikara Tanaka, Seishin Yokochi, Keisei Tominaga
- The Japanese have been preparing long and hard for this particular tournament, even going to Europe for a taste of international competition. In that trip, Chikara Tanaka and Keisei Tominaga shone the brightest, being named among the top five players of the micro-tournament in which they saw action. Tanaka is considered the best U16 talent in the country since Rui Hachimura, and this was given credence when he was named to the senior national pool earlier this year. Clearly, he's the one to really watch. Tominaga, meanwhile, is known as a deadshot, and he should keep opposing defenses honest. What Japan lacks, though, is ceiling. At 6ft 2in (1.89m), Seichin Yokochi is already among the team's tallest guys, and he will expected to do a lot of the dirty work against opposing frontcourt players.
Korea
- Lee KyuTae, Cha MinSeok, Lee SeungWoo
- The defending champions broke the Chinese stranglehold in 2015, and they are set to impress again this year. They are planning no less than a return trip to the podium and to the FIBA U17 World Cup, and they have a deep team to try and accomplish that mission. Leading the way will be 6ft 5in (1.95m) Lee KyuTae, who may not be the tallest frontline player, but what he lacks in height, he more than makes up for in skill as he was named Best Big Man at the 2018 KBL Youth Elite Camp. Joining him at the spearhead will be Lee SeungWoo, the 6ft 4in (1.92m) super scorer who was named MVP of the same Youth Elite Camp. Another one to watch is 6ft 6in (1.99m) Cha MinSeok, who is a sweet-shooting center capable of drawing defenders out with his sniping.
Lebanon
- Rayan Zanbaka, Yousef Khayat, Andrew Kopaly
- Lebanon will be without their top center from WABA U16, Gebrael Samaha, so the onus to carry the team will be on the trio of Rayan Zanbaka, Yousef Khayat and Andrew Kopaly. Zanbaka was Lebanon's top scorer at WABA U16, averaging a whopping 29.0 points per game on top of 9.5 rebounds and 4.3 steals per contest. The forward pairing of Khayat and Kopaly - both of whom stand at least 6ft 6in (1.98m) and averaged a combined 18.3 points per game at WABA U16 - will try to man the paint for the Young Cedars, who are hoping to finally gain a podium finish at this level. They have never placed higher than 6th in the tournament's history.
Malaysia
- John Tang, Teoh Yi Kang
- Malaysia are not considered heavyweights in Asian basketball, but they have two promising young guns who stood out at the SEABA U16 Championship last year and who have the potential to be among the senior team's main men in the near future. These are John Tang and Teoh Yi Kang. Tang, a 6ft 0in (1.84m) small forward, was SEABA U16's leading scorer, averaging 16.5 points per game, while Teoh was among the tournament's top point guards, recording 5.3 assists to go along with a dozen points per contest.
New Zealand
- Mitchell Dance, Shalom Broughton, Morgan Trott
- When the Junior Tall Blacks went to Manila last year to play a number of tune-up games against collegiate teams and the Philippines U16 pool, Mitchell Dance and Shalom Broughton were the ones who shone the brightest. Dance is a 6ft 3in (1.90m) shooting guard who has been one of the top players in New Zealand's U16 circles for the past couple of years, and this tournament should be his coming out party. Broughton, for his part, is a 6ft 3in (1.90m) power forward from Mt. Maunganui College known for his boundless leaping ability and athleticism and is considered among the brightest prospects in New Zealand's Class of 2020. Trott will be among the Junior Tall Blacks' tallest players at 6ft 6in (1.97m), and the Stratford High School product is expected to make an impact with his long frame.
Philippines
- Kai Sotto, RC Calimag, Mac Guadaña
- Perhaps the team that has been the most hyped entering this competition, the Philippines, for the first time, will be among the tallest teams with half the team standing at least 6ft 4in (1.92m) or taller. At the forefront will undoubtedly be 7ft 1in (2.15m) Kai Sotto, the current darling of Philippine basketball expected to be among the country's future pillars. Sotto was named Finals MVP as his high school team won their tournament's championship earlier this year, and he is expected to make quite the splash in Foshan. Joining him up front are Geo Chiu and Raven Cortez, who stand 6ft 8in (2.02m) and 6ft 7in (2.00m) respectively. Set to help Sotto score a lot of points, though, are RC Calimag and Mac Guadaña, who were among the top five scorers at SEABA U16, averaging 15.3 and 12.5 points per game respectively.
Enzo Flojo
FIBA
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