SEREMBAN (Malaysia) - Madison Ryan nailed the biggest shot of her young career to tow Australia past Japan, 83-82, to rule the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup for the straight time, Saturday night at the Karisma Arena.
The 17-year-old forward finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds, delivering in the clutch when the Gems went to her for the go-ahead bucket to erase an 81-82 deficit with only nine-tenths of a second left to play.
Cold-blooded was Ryan in the winning play, maximizing her size advantage against the double team to bank in in the short stab, which took the fight out of their smaller yet gritty counterparts from East Asia.
The Aussies then buckled down to work on defense in the final possession, preventing Miya Takeuchi from getting a good look from deep as time expired on the way to accomplishing their mission of winning a 'three-peat.'
With this, the powerhouse from Oceania have become just the third team ever in competition history to achieve a 'treble' after Korea and China, who were the last to do so during their reign of dominance from 2010 to 2018.
"It was really important for me that we try to win this game because it will be the last Asia Cup for some of these girls," offered Australia head coach Kristi Harrower. "So, I wanted to make sure that they won today."
Other Gems also shone bright in the triumph, with Isabel Smith coming through with 16 points. Olivia Olechnowicz supplied 15 points, while Jemyma Manyok added 13 points and 8 rebounds plus 5 of the team's 7 blocks.
Olechnowicz and Smith connected on a triple each to power an 8-0 run for the 49-37 lead, which would grow to its biggest at 15, 58-43, after the latter's three-point play with less than five minutes left in the said period.
At the time, the Gems appeared to have captured full control of the match, only for the Japanese to retaliate in the fourth quarter and eventually take the 82-81 lead after Takeuchi's triple with 3.7 seconds left to play.
But then came Ryan at the death, who after receiving Olechnowicz's sideline inbound quickly went to work, overpowering both Riko Katsube and Kohse Hosozawa to kiss the eventual game-winner off the glass.
"When Maddy put up that final shot, and it went in, it was an amazing feeling," reflected Smith, who was on the floor during that play. "This is the most surreal I've ever felt in the game. It's definitely an amazing feeling."
Takeuchi led Japan with 25 points, 18 of which he made in the payoff period alone as she spearheaded the fightback that fell just short. She shot 8-of-16 from the field and also chalked up 6 assists.
The loss couldn't be any tougher for the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Cup 2025 Most Valuable Player as her bid to take home the gold after settling for bronze in last year's 16-and-under contest - in this same city - got foiled.
Still, the 17-year-old Takeuchi is going home with another hardware after earning MVP honors, bannering the Tournament All-Star Five that also features Ryan, Smith, Sun Hanyun of China, and Korea's Lim Yeonseo.
Katsube backed her up with 21 points, while Marin Koike added 12 for the AKATSUKI JAPAN, whose title drought has extended to 18 years now. The program last ruled the event in 2008 in Medan, Indonesia.
"As Coach said, we came here to win a gold medal," Takeuchi said. "So, I'm not quite happy. But I think we were able to play the Japanese way. It's something we can carry on for next year's World Cup."
The quintet of Australia, Japan, China, Korea, and Chinese Taipei will represent the continent in the prestigious FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2027, set on July 17-25, 2027 in the city of Chengdu in China.
FIBA