AHMEDABAD (India) - Australia took a major step in their 'back-to-back' bid after advancing to the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 Semi-Finals by disposing of Iran, 90-69, at the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium, Friday night.
The Emus hardly broke a sweat in dealing with their WABA counterparts, running to a 33-15 lead after the first 10 minutes of the ball game to kick-start the rout, eventually completing the 'Final Four' picture.
Aside from finalizing the penultimate stage's casting, the powerhouse from Oceania completed the four-team ensemble to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2027, joining China, New Zealand, and Korea.
It will be the Aussies' second consecutive, 16th overall appearance in the biennial youth continental competition, whose 18th edition will be held at the city of Pardubice in Czechia from June 26 to July 4, 2027.
Australia have set up a showdown with Korea in the Semi-Finals tomorrow.
Eleven of the 12 players scored at least a field goal in the wire-to-wire win, with Yahya Basaran top-scoring with 21 points and 9 rebounds plus 4 blocks, as the 7-footer imposed his size and strength against Team Melli.
Harry Cook supplied 11 points, all of which he produced in the opening period alone to spearhead their early breakaway in a hot start that nearly saw him match the opposition's total output during that stretch.
Jai Fa'ale also had 11 points, while the others such as Will Hamilton (9 points,7 rebounds), Riak Akhuar (7 points, 4 blocks), and Bailey Hanson (7 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists) came through with significant contributions.
Iran, on the other hand, were led by Soheyl Soleyman with 20 points and 6 rebounds.
Matin Esmaeili had 16 while Mohammad Khaledi added 11 in the loss, which prolonged the team's absence in the Semi-Finals to 12 years now. They last reached the said stage in 2016 in Tehran, which they went on to rule.
FIBA