ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - Australia completed their quest for unprecedented history by ruling the FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025 following an 85-58 conquest of China in the Final, Sunday at the MBank Arena.
The Crocs took control in the third canto after narrowly leading at halftime, and then broke away come the final canto with a 30-point eruption to annex the first-ever 'four-peat' of the biennial continental meet.
In winning their fourth consecutive gold medal in as many campaigns, Australia have also become the contest's most successful team, breaking a tie with, coincidentally, Team Dragon for the most number of championships.
Team Australia have also extended their unbeaten run in the tilt to 23 games.
Luke Roland Paul starred in the victory with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists, falling just short of a rare triple-double performance on his way to winning Tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
Will Hamilton finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Henry Browne made 14 points and 8 rebounds as well, while Lucas Byrne added 11 points and 7 rebounds as four players finished in double figures in the win.
Zhang Yizhaojie, on the other hand, paced China with 13 points in the loss, settling for a silver medal for the second time as the three-time titilists once again fell to Australia in the finale similar to 2017 in Foshan.
Meanwhile, New Zealand copped bronze after escaping Japan, 93-92, in a thrilling Third-Place Game.
Marco Sula starred for the Junior Tall Blacks, nailing the eventual game-winner off a baseline drive with 1.6 seconds left as they went on to win the said medal for the third time since joining the event in 2017.
Tawhiri Cate top-scored for New Zealand with 17 points and 7 assists. Lawson Pryor made 12 points while Liam Keogh and Zach Rampton added 10 points apiece as all their efforts were preserved by Sula.
FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025 final standings:
1. Australia 2. China 3. New Zealand 4. Japan
FIBA