Who will be next to step up from U18 to stardom like Park Jisu, Himawari Akaho, Li Yueru, or Han Xu?

BENGALURU (India) - It’s time for the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship once again. There have been a number of young stars that have passed through this competition and quickly progressed to be featured players on their respective senior national teams.

Let’s take a quick look at who these stars in the past were and who could follow in their footsteps.

Han Xu & Li Yueru (CHN)

Nothing could stop Han Xu and Li Yueru in China’s run to their fourth straight U18 Women’s Asian Championship in 2016. They beat their opponents by an average margin of 37.1 points per game with only one win coming by less than 28 points.

Li was the shorter of the twin towers at 2.00M (6’7”) and averaged 15.9 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. Her highlight game came in the Final where she recorded a 22-point, 23-rebound double-double to rout Japan.

Meanwhile, Han - who stands at 2.05M (6’9”) averaged a more defensive line of statistics with 11.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per content. Her highlight game came against Japan as well, though it was an earlier encounter in the competition where Han recorded 17 points, 10 rebounds, and a whopping 7 blocks.

We all know now how both of their careers have turned out as both are now key stars of the senior team while also experiencing much success at the professional level.

China’s does not have any players that can match Han’s height this year, though they do have a few tall centers to utilize.

Between the likes of Feng Guoguo (1.91M - 6’3”), Jaing Jiatong (1.95M - 6’5”), and Ge Jiaying (2.00M - 6’7”), who can be the standouts that step up as China aims for their sixth straight title?

Himawari Akaho (JPN)

Japan have a long line of stars to have passed through the U18 Women’s Asian Championship. Few, however, have been that good at such a young age to have been able to play in two U18 Women’s Asian Championships. But Akoho Himawari was.

The sharpshooting Akaho shot 42.8 percent from three-point range while averaging 8.8 points per game across the 13 games she played in the 2014 and 2016 editions of the competition. She was also strong on the boards with 7.1 rebounds per game.

It didn’t take long for Akaho to break into the senior team ranks either as she made her debut in the 2018. From ending as runners-up in both U18 Women’s Asian Championships she played in, Akoho has gone on to have a highly successful run at the next stage. Aside from winning the historic silver medal in the recent Tokyo Olympics, she’s won two Women’s Asia Cup while being named the MVP in the 2021 edition of the competition.

There aren’t any players in Japan’s roster this year that could return for a second U18 Women’s Asian Championship. However, there might be a few names that could make a similar impact in the near future like Chinami Yokoyama who recently received much praise during her participation in the recent Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp in Canberra.

Park Jisu (KOR)

To be honest, Park might have been able to even play in three U18 Women’s Asian Championships. This is in consideration that she had already played - and dominated - in the U17 Women’s Basketball World Cups 2012 and 2014 as well as the U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2013 before playing in her first U18 Women’s Asian Championship.

Across the two U18 Women’s Asian Championships she played in 2014 and 2016, Park averaged 12.1 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game.

We've already seen Park average a triple-double with points, rebounds, and blocks earlier in the year at the Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament, but she was also close to recording that feat at the youth level as well. In her very first game at the U18 Asian Championship in 2014, Park put up 20 points, 17 rebounds, and 8 blocks against Chinese Taipei in a 72-63 win.

Korea doesn’t have a player with Park’s size in this roster and it’s unlikely that anyone will be able to replicate that level of production, but it will be interesting to see what Ko Hyeonji can do. The 16-year-old was a featured player for the U16 Women’s Asian Championship and U17 Women’s World Cup teams earlier this summer and she could potentially be on the squad for the next U18 Asian Championship as well.

FIBA