ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - Eight teams will duke it out for the last four tickets to the final eight in the FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025 Qualification to Quarter-Finals this Thursday, September 4, at the MBank Arena.
The quadruple-header gameday commences at 11:30 local time, a hectic slate expected to be an intense prelude to the QF proper the day after as only a quartet would be able to march on and keep the dream alive.
Bahrain are coming into the play-in with much momentum as compared to the others after finishing their Group A campaign with back-to-back wins, first a come-from-behind victory over Lebanon and then a rout of India.
That dominant conquest of the SABA representatives, which also sent the latter out of the tournament, enabled the GBA Qualifiers winners to finish second in their pool (2-1) and forge a meeting with the Philippines.
Now mentored by Gilas icon LA Tenorio, the Filipino dribblers set up the duel after settling for a third-place finish in Group B (1-2), marking yet another appearance for the program in the said stage of the Final Phase.
Pressure is on for the present-day batch as they will try to keep the country's Quarter-Final streak in the biennial competition against a squad powered by potential stars Somto Patrick and Hassan Abdulkadir.
The said match would be the opening act of a busy day, the winner of which will face the undefeated China. The three-time champions swept their way to the Quarter-Finals after going 3-0 in Group C.
Scheduled to slug it out at 14:00 local time are one-time finalists Chinese Taipei and Lebanon, with the triumphant side arranging a date with three-time medalists and Group D's best Japan in the next round.
The crew from East Asia is actually in their first U16 Asia Cup in eight years, and being in this stage is quite a familiar spot for the program as they also competed in the Play-Offs back in 2017 in Foshan.
But they bowed to, coincidentally, the Cedars by way of an 82-78 decision, making this year's meeting a chance for this group led by Wang I-Le and Sing Pei-An to avenge the batch that featured Ma Chien-Hao.
Chinese Taipei will take on a Lebanese unit that's hoping to rediscover their winning ways after finishing with two deflating losses in a row in Group A, the reason why they ended up at third place with a 1-2 record.
The third match of the day will see Korea take on Kazakhstan at 16:30 in the two teams' second-ever meeting in the competition. Their first was in 2013 in Tehran, with the Koreans winning convincingly, 88-75.
Champions of the 2015 games, Korea are coming in looking to vent their frustrations after their bid of winning all their assignments in Group C got spoiled following a 97-81 loss to China in the Group Phase's last day.
But that may not be easy to do as they will have to get through a team that's gotten confident after overcoming Saudi Arabia in a tight affair for their first win after a pair of losses to secure the no. 3 spot in Group D.
The winner between these two will take on the reigning three-time champions Australia, who finished on top of Group A after winning all three of their assignments as they aim for an unprecedented 'four-peat.'
Battling it out at 19:00, lastly, are Iran and Malaysia to earn the right to face the 2023 runners-up in New Zealand, who clinched the no. 1 seat in Group B with a 3-0 slate.
Bronze medalists of the 2009 inaugurals, the young Team Melli are keen on coming back to the Quarter-Finals as they haven't missed the said round in their previous five appearances, including the last three.
Standing in their way, however, is a Malaysian team aching to get over the hump. Although they've played in seven of the contest's eight editions, the young Harimau are still in search of a breakthrough Quarter-Final stint.
The FIBA U16 Asia Cup Final Phase will run from September 4-7 at the MBank Arena.
FIBA