Australia routs hosts Thailand in U18 Asia Debut, 119-44
NONTHABURI - After the official opening ceremony of the FIBA U18 Asian Championship, Australia made a grand introduction for themselves in their U18 Asia debut by beating host nation Thailand, 119-44.
NONTHABURI (FIBA U18 Asian Championship 2018) - After the official opening ceremony of the FIBA U18 Asian Championship at Stadium29, Australia made a grand introduction for themselves in their U18 Asia debut by beating host nation Thailand, 119-44.
Australia were dominant from the start, jumping to a 28-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The size difference was too evident as Australia outrebounded Thailand 64-28 and even had 25 offensive rebounds to Thailand’s 20 defensive rebounds.
Kody Stattmann was the lone Australian player to be scoreless at halftime, but immediately got going in the 3rd quarter and scored 12 points in that 10-minute interval alone. Australia forced Thailand into a whopping 28 turnovers and got 18 steals leading to 36 points off turnovers.
Thailand heavilty struggled and had to work extra hard for each of their field goals, resulting in them relying on long range three-pointers. While they were able to rattle in 8 long balls, it was far too inconsistent to keep up with the U18 Asia newcomers.
Australia had four players scoring double-digits, but Aiden Krause led them all in both quantity (19 points) and quality (66.7%).
Tomorrow’s matchup in Group C will see Australia play Bahrain at 10:30 AM (GMT +7) and Thailand against New Zealand at 3:30 PM (GMT +7).
FIBA