AHMEDABAD (India) - Australia notched their second win in as many games in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 following a 107-69 conquest of the Philippines on Saturday at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium.
Still on a high from their 102-32 beatdown of Thailand back on opening day, the Emus erupted for 32 big points in the second chapter to build a 56-34 lead entering the break, and the game would never be in doubt.
Simply too big and too strong for their Southeast Asian counterparts, a total of 7 players finished in double digits in the victory, with 7-footer center Yahya Basaran leading the way with 17 points and 8 rebounds.
John Aryang supplied 16 points and 5 of the team's 15 steals. Bailey Hanson made 14 points and 8 assists off the bench, while Antonio Browne came through with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists plus a steal.
Isaac Riddle had 12 points and 8 rebounds. Jai Fa'ale scored 12 as well, while Josh McCann chipped in 11 for the Aussies, who flat-out dominated the boards with 60 rebounds - doubling the amount their foes had.
But unlike in their meeting with the Thais last Thursday, Team Australia figured in a tough battle early. The Philippines were actually keeping in step and even tied the game at 12-all behind Aidan Dayco -Green.
Harry Cook, though, broke the deadlock, before Hanson and Aryang came in to give themselves the 17-12 lead, which put them ahead for good. They ended the first with a 24-19 lead, then came the massive pullaway.
Leading by just two early in the second period, Basaran went 2-of-2 from the line before Aryang hit back-to-back triples, then came Browne as the trio strung a 13-0 run for a 39-24 lead, setting the tone for the rout.
Dayco-Green and Luke Atacador had 12 points apiece to lead Gilas Youth, who fell to 1-1 after the loss as they failed to follow up their dramatic 89-88 victory against Chinese Taipei back in the first day.
Chinese Taipei, though, have bounced back from that heartbreaker by venting their ire on Thailand, 110-62, in the second game of the day, leaning on a solid first half toward keeping the Southeast Asian side winless (0-2).
The opposition actually managed to get close early until Xing Yu-Sheng made both of his free throws, which triggered a 12-0 rally to build a 24-8 lead with less than 3 minutes remaining in the opening period.
But it wasn't until the second chapter where the game would be broken wide. Chinese Taipei went on a 31-9 assault in the frame for a 59-27 lead at the half, leaving the Thais deflated the rest of the match.
Liu Tingkuan had 21 points to lead the dominant win. Xing made 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Weng Tz-Jie had 12 points, while Huang Jia-Han, Carter Coleman, and Lu Shu-Wei added at least 10 apiece.
All 4 teams will play again on Monday, August 17. Australia will try to sweep their way into the Quarter-Finals versus Chinese Taipei at 10:30 local time, before the Philippines take on neighbors Thailand at 13:30.
FIBA