SEREMBAN (Malaysia) - Australia maintained their mastery of China by coming away with the 78-59 victory to reach the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2026-Division A Final, Friday night at the Karisma Arena.
The Gems got off to a 31-9 lead after the first 10 minutes, but needed to overcome a gritty stand by their rivals before finishing strongly en route to forging a title showdown with Japan tomorrow at 19:00 local time.
And by returning to the Last Dance for the third time in a row at the 16-time champions' expense, the 'three-peat' seekers have also ended the latter's decades-long streak of reaching the championship bout.
The last time that the young Team Dragon missed the Final was in 1990 in Nagoya, where they settled for a third-place finish in that particular edition ruled by Korea, who beat the host nation in the gold medal game.
So for the first time in 36 long years, there will be no China in the Final, as the battle for continental supremacy features proud programs that will be facing one another for only the third time in this competition.
"I think it will really be a good game," said the Aussies' head coach, Kristi Harrower. "Japan, they're always up and about. They play hard, they play physical ... we just gotta be able to handle their pressure."
"And, make sure that we come out ready to play like we did today, which we will because it's a gold medal game. Australia has won the last two Asia Cups so it's important for us to make sure that we continue to try to do that."
Isabel Smith led Team Australia with 22 points and 5 rebounds. Madison Ryan submitted 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Olivia Olechnowicz supplied 14 points and 5 assists plus 3 steals in the dominant win.
China, on the other hand, were led by He Siyao with 22 points and 5 rebounds in the crushing loss. Li Yuanshan made 16 points, while Zhao Zirui came just short of a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds.
Runners-up to the Gems in the last two editions of the biennial contest, the charges of Coach Nan Chen will try to win bronze for some consolation when they take on Korea in the Third-Place Game tomorrow as well.
FIBA