AHMEDABAD (India) - In the biggest upset of the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 to date, China beat New Zealand in convincing fashion, 79-66, on Saturday night to head back to the Final after over a decade of waiting.
Both squads came into the bout with 4-0 records but Team Dragon quickly took control, jumping to a 24-10 lead before turning in a solid display of poise in the fourth to deny the Junior Tall Blacks from coming back.
"I'm so proud of the players," lauded head coach Wang Jianjun. "The players followed everything that the coaches told them before the game. And they fought with good defense. That was the key to our success."
Yang Yixuan, by his lonesome, kept their counterparts at arm's length despite the combined efforts of Hoani Ifopo-Togia, Jackson Ball, and Philip Wickham in trying to chop down what was once a wide 22-point gap.
Wickham did cut it to just eight after a perfect trip to the line but Yang was there to respond with a layup off the break, before Wang Zichao cleaned up his own miss to make it a 71-59 spread with 4:50 to go.
Order would be restored since, as the contenders from Oceania also got into an unfortunate dry spell in which it could not buy any basket after Arana Robertson's make from deep at the 2:54-mark of the ball game.
Soon, all of Team China would erupt in jubilation - and bask in the plaudits from those inside the Veer Savarkar Indoor Stadium - as the present batch sent the program to the Final for the first time in 12 years.
The last time that the tournament's only 11-time champions went to the Big Dance was in 2014 in Doha, Qatar, which was also the last time they won the gold by beating Iran in the finale via rout, 66-48.
Aside from ending a drought, the Chinese denied New Zealand of booking a third Final appearance in as many U18 Asia Cup trips after doing so in two of the last three editions, both of which saw them lose to Australia.
Those campaigns also witnessed the Junior Tall Blacks beat China en route to the championship round, making this particular victory all the more memorable for the latter as the EABA royalty finally flipped the script.
"In recent years, New Zealand has been a very strong opponent for us," said Wang.
"We have lost to them two times in the Semi-Finals. But thanks to the players again, because of their efforts, we succeeded this time," the veteran mentor added.
Zhang Chunzhi led China with 18 points and 5 rebounds. FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2026 All-Star Five member Zhang Yizhaojie notched a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, which he laced with 3 assists.
Wang supplied 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists, while Yang chipped in 10 points, including 8 in the final period as all but one of the 11 players fielded by Wang contributed at least 2 points in the victory.
Now, they await the winner of the other Semi-Finals bracket pitting defending champions Australia and 2022 winners Korea for their foes in the Final, which is set tomorrow, Sunday, August 23, at 19:30 local time.
"We are serious about every opponent," said Zichao. "We must feel the hunger before every game. We just fight."
Ball, on the other hand, had 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists to lead New Zealand.
Cole Hopoi had 12 while Ifopo-Togia and Robertson added 11 each for the Junior Tall Blacks, who will try to salvage a bronze when they face the losing side between the Emus and Korea in the Third-Place Game tomorrow.
FIBA