AHMEDABAD (India) - It took some time for Australia to get going and when they did, there was no stopping the crew in accomplishing the very goal each and everyone of them had set before flying into this city.
The Emus leaned on a big second-half assault to eventually take down the gritty China, 89-79, and successfully retain the FIBA U18 Asia Cup title before a good crowd at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium, Sunday night.
Jai Fa'ale and Harry Cook joined hands for a quick 7-0 run to break a knot and give themselves a 69-62 lead with 1:17 left in the third, and that was all they needed to take control as they soon pulled away for good.
Isaac Riddle delivered their first basket of the fourth, then came Antonio Browne and Bailey Hanson with hits of their own to inflate the lead to double digits for the first time since the second period, 78-67, with 6:23 to go.
And it would be all Team Australia since, with the crew leading by as many as 15 points, 89-74, with less than 30 seconds remaining as the Chinese could no longer keep up the way they did in the first three chapters.
Fa'ale led the Emus with 19 points in the triumph that enabled the country to achieve the first U18 Asia Cup 'back-to-back' in 14 years, or since their EABA foes won the second title of a 'three-peat' back in 2012 in Mongolia.
Hanson finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Yahya Basaran made 13 points and 2 blocks, while Cook flirted with a double-double of 11 points and 9 rebounds as the quartet led the balanced attack.
*This article will be updated.