SEREMBAN (Malaysia) - Australia moved one win away from achieving history after keeping their mastery of China, 87-59, to reach the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Cup 2025 Final, Saturday evening at the Karisma Arena.
The Sapphires actually needed some time to get in the groove and there was no stopping the crew once they did during the second chapter, eventually inching closer to seeing their 'four-peat' dreams turn into reality.
No team in tournament history has ever won the championship four times, let alone four in a row, and the modern-day powerhouse could be the first should they take care of business in the title bout on Sunday.
The Aussies will face either budding rivals Japan or foes New Zealand for the gold at 18:00 local time and expectations are surely high on them, but Coach Tom Garlepp & Co. choose to stay grounded.
"To be honest, we haven't even mentioned it," he said. "I think for us, we're just trying to stay in the present. We have a lot of things that we're trying to improve on that don't even connect to the scoreboard at all."
"If we can manage to beat whoever we play tomorrow, that would be fantastic," the veteran mentor added. "But for us, it's one day at a time, and identifying things that we know are crucial for us to be the best that we can be."
Madison Ryan finished with 22 points, spiked by three triples, to lead Australia. Marianela Fakalata and Isabel Smith provided ample support with 13 points apiece, with the tandem also combining for 11 rebounds.
The troika were key in the aforementioned pullaway, with Smith and Fakalata bannering their 10-2 start into the said quarter to give themselves their first double-digit lead at 10, 30-20, with 7:23 to go.
China tried to keep in step but the Sapphires were already in rhythm. Fakalata perfected a trip to the line, before Ryan knocked down a triple to lay the foundation of the scoring spree that all but decided the match.
Matilda Trout, Sophie Richardson, and Lily Mapp all came in to help as the squad put together 12 unanswered points to expand their lead to two decades, 45-25, with less than two minutes left.
The lead would balloon to as big as 32, 87-55, behind Mya Moke during the game's closing moments.
"It was certainly a China team that had a great game plan ... and I thought they executed their game plan really, really well," said Garlepp as they actually trailed by three early in the match. "I give a lot of credit to them."
"I know there was some level of a margin there, but I thought that they coached a good game, and they played a good game," he added. "Credit to them, and as always, I'm proud of the result but also the team at large."
Li Yuanshan, on the other hand, was the only in double figures for China with 12 points as they struggled to replicate their well-deployed attacks from previous matches, ultimately kissing their title hopes goodbye.
Still, the three-time champs can still fight for a medal - something that they weren't able to do in 2023. They can salvage a bronze in the Third-Place Game on Sunday against the loser between Japan and New Zealand.
FIBA