AHMEDABAD (India) - Australia booked a return trip to the FIBA U18 Asia Cup Final following a 111-74 conquest of Korea in the 2026 competition's Semi-Finals on Saturday night at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium.
The Emus erased an early three-point deficit and took the 21-15 lead to end the first, built more separation in the second, and then broke away so wide in the third toward reaching the Big Dance for a third time overall.
Now winners of five straight games, the Oceania powerhouse will look to complete the 'back-to-back' against a hungry China team in the championship bout set tomorrow, Sunday, August 23, at 19:30 local time.
The event's only 11-time gold medalists were the first to advance following a 79-66 stunner of the erstwhile unbeaten New Zealand earlier, marking the program's return to the finale after 12 long years.
"It means everything," Coach Luke Brennan said of reaching the Final anew. "The FIBA Asia zone is such a difficult zone, so for us to come here and be challenged, it really tests us as an organization and as a team."
"And it forces our team and our players to grow," he added. "It's been really pleasing so far. Every challenge that we face, we've had to become a little bit better. For me as a coach, it's very pleasing to see where my team's at."
But I'm also immensely proud to be able to do it in this competition because it's a really difficult competition.
Six players finished in twin digits in the triumph, led by Jai Fa'ale with 20 points and 5 rebounds. The towering Yahya Basaran notched another double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds plus a pair of blocks.
Josh McCann supplied 13 points. John Aryang produced 12 points, Bailey Hanson came through with a double-double output of his own by tallying 11 points and 13 assists, and Will Hamilton added 10 and 8 boards.
Aryang himself was crucial in turning the game around, scoring back-to-back hits to erase the 11-8 Korea lead before Hanson, Basaran, and McCann came in to help make it a 13-4 rally to finish the opening frame.
But it wasn't until the ensuing frame where the gap would begin swelling. As Korea cut the lead to six again, the Aussies got into a groove, as Basaran, Fa'ale, and Antonio Browne made a 10-0 run for a 42-26 lead.
And the game would be theirs totally when the crew unloaded 34 points after the break for an 80-55 lead entering the final 10 minutes of the bout, as their East Asian counterparts couldn't find any sort of response.
"Our boys took a while to get settled into the game but after halftime, they came out and they were really locked in," said Brennan. "We played the Australian brand of basketball. Very, very pleased as a coach."
Yoon Jiwon led Korea with 18 points and 6 rebounds in the loss, which foiled their plans of bringing the country back to the Final which the program last accomplished in 2022, where it eventually took home the crown.
Park Taejoon had 16 points while Yoon Jihoon, who starred in their 67-64 come-from-behind victory over Japan to book an outright ticket to the Quarter-Finals, added 12 for the perennial contenders from EABA.
Korea will try to secure a podium finish against New Zealand in the Third-Place Game tomorrow.
FIBA