AHMEDABAD (India) - Old rivalries and potential new ones highlight what should be an action-packed Quarter-Finals in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 this Friday, August 21, at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium.
Opening the quadruple-header affair would be China and the Philippines at 10:30 local time, followed by a meeting between Korea and Chinese Taipei at 13:30 in a battle between EABA contenders.
Powerhouses from Oceania will then take the floor afterward, with New Zealand battling Japan at 16:30 before defending champions Australia try to keep their 'back-to-back' bid alive versus Iran at 19:30.
These pairings were determined following the conclusion of the Qualification to Quarter-Finals, which saw the Philippines, Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Iran follow the top seeds by taking care of their businesses.
Definitely, much of the attention is on the Emus, with fans and observers alike curious to see if they would be able to maintain an unbeaten streak that dates back to their U18 Asia Cup debut in 2018 in Thailand.
They went a combined 12-0 in Nonthaburi and in the 2024 competitions in Amman, Jordan, and have just extended their run to 15 games now following a clean three-game sweep of Group A during the Group Phase.
Now, they're just three wins away from another tournament sweep - and achieving a repeat that hasn't been done in this event since 2012 - and they simply need to get past Team Melli to get closer to their one true goal.
Needless to say, it's going to be one big test for Iran, although they're coming in confident after beating hosts India to advance, also carrying with them the lessons learned from the beating they got from China in the pool stage.
But of course, not to be slighted are the other brackets. The Junior Tall Blacks, for one, are out to write their redemption story this year after settling for a runner-up finish to the Aussies in the previous meet.
They're facing an equally motivated Japanese team, who after taking home the silver during the 2022 edition in Tehran, bombed out of the Quarter-Finals against Team Australia and went on to finish at seventh in 2024.
Then of course there's China and the Philippines, with the tilt's only 11-time champions looking to return to the Big Dance, which they haven't done in 12 years now, only settling for bronze during the last three contests.
Team Dragon have the opportunity to end that wait this time around but will have to take down Gilas Youth first, whom they've beaten four times in the five encounters they've had in the biennial tourney thus far.
Last but not the least are Korea and Chinese Taipei, who are locking horns once more in the last three months after facing one another in the EABA Qualifiers, which saw the 2022 champions come out on top, 87-84.
That marked the Koreans' fifth consecutive win in six match-ups in FIBA play, a streak that began all the way back to 2000 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which they eventually ruled to win the third of four gold medals to date.
The four teams advancing to the Semi-Finals will qualify for the prestigious FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2027 that will be held in Pardubice, Czechia on June 26 to July 4, 2027.
FIBA