Hachimura headlined loaded FIBA U16 Asian Championship class of 2013

TEHRAN (Iran) - In the basketball world, time can fly by pretty quickly. One minute you’re watching a promising kid in a U16 competition and next thing you know, they are one of the most promising young prospects in the world.

Such is the case with Japan’s rising star Rui Hachimura, as it only seemed like yesterday when he was tearing it up in Tehran at the FIBA U16 Asian Championship back in 2013. Fun fact: Hachimura wasn’t the only one that has developed into stars in their own rights in respective their countries. Check out this list of up-and-coming stars from the U16 Asian Championship class of 2013!

You-Know-Hu

China won their third straight U16 Asian Championship in 2013 in undefeated fashion, stretching their win streak in the event to 27 games in total. The star of the squad that helped carry on the winning tradition was big man, Hu Jinqiu.

The 2.10M (6’11”) center was consistently dominant throughout the competition with averages of 20.6 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 4.2 blocks per game. Nonetheless, he might have been saving some of his best games for the bigger matchups such as the games against hosts Iran (33 points,  21 rebounds, 4 blocks) and against Japan in the Semi-Finals (22 points, 24 rebounds, 5 blocks).

To no one’s surprise, Hu has already stepped up to be one of China’s brightest prospects today. He eventually made his senior national team debut in 2016 before finally playing his first Asia Cup game in 2017. He’s also undeniably one of the stars on a strong and young Zhejiang Guangsha team in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), averaging a double-double for the first time in his career with 19.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.

Hu was one of the final cuts from the World Cup 2019 roster, but it seems like it won’t be long before fans potentially get to see him make his debut at the global stage with his current trajectory.

Hu was not the only one to have developed into a star over the years after playing in the U16 Asian Championship from China.

Shen Zijie was also on the team in 2013, though injuries limited his playing time in the early stages and kept him off the court entirely as the tournament progressed. Nonetheless, no one could deny that Shen was one of the better young talents even at that point.

From there, the 2.11M (6’11”) big man has fought his way back to being healthy and is now a promising piece of the senior national team rotation. Shen has yet to make his Asia Cup debut, though he has already played for China during the World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers.

In the CBA, Shen has improved his per game statistics in every major category over the past four seasons for the Shenzhen Aviators. This previous season, Shen averaged 14.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game.

Like Mike (and Matt)

The “Batang Gilas” squad that made it through to the U16 Asian Championship Final in 2013 to book a ticket to the U17 World Cup was certainly an inspiring squad. Two of the key players from that squad were the Nieto Twins, Matt and Mike.

The twins are unconventional in the sense that they play different positions with Mike listed as a power forward and Matt listed as a point guard.

Mike was a beast in the paint through the competition, averaging 15.9 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. He had four double-doubles in total, highlighted by 17 points and 14 rebounds against Chinese Taipei in the Semi-Finals.

Matt, on the other hand, was less explosive. However, he played consistently enough as a point guard to produce all-around stats of 5.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per contest. As a matter of fact, it has actually been Matt who has first made his senior national team debut after playing for Gilas during the first window of the Asia Cup Qualifiers. Against Indonesia, Matt recorded 2 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists.

A Star is Born

No one knew at the time, but the U16 Asian Championship turned out to be a proper debut for current rising star Rui Hachimura from Japan.

Hachimura was the youngest player on the squad that year, but that didn’t stop him from being one of the most explosive forces of the entire competition. He was second among all scorers at 22.8 points per game and 4^th in rebounds with 12.6 boards per contest. His superb athleticism was already on display as he averaged 2.8 rejections and 7.5 free-throw attempts per game.

It was clear that Hachimura was already one of the best young talents in Asia at that point and he only continued to prove that as a fact as the years went by. Whether it was performances like his 19-point, 25-rebound game against Korea or his 25 points, 16 rebounds, and 8 blocks against India, it was clear that Japan had themselves a gem of a player to develop around in the future.

Hachimura progressed as expected and maybe even exceeded those lofty expectations. He went on to star at global youth events before crossing over the play in the US for the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the NCAA. From there he only got better and better, warranting a senior national team debut during the World Cup Qualifiers before becoming the highest NBA Draft pick from Asia since Yao Ming in 2019.

The sky still seems to be the limit for Hachimura, both for his future with the Washington Wizards and the Japan national team.

Super Rookie

How many players can say that they played in a U16 event twice? We’re not sure of the entire list, but Korean’s Jae Min-Yang is on that shortlist for sure.

Jae accomplished that feat after playing in the U16 Asian Championship for the first time as a 14-year-old before returning to star and win it all later in 2015. He was still riding along as a bench player for most of his first U16 experience and averaged 3.6 points to go with 2.8 rebounds per game. However, there were flashes of his potential such as the opening game where he scored 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds against Thailand.

Jae is now set to make his professional debut in Japan’s B.League for the Shinshu Brave Warriors in the upcoming season.

On the fast track

It takes time for youngsters to crack into the senior national team rotation and make an Asia Cup debut, even for the biggest stars on this list.

This was not the case for Malaysia’s Yek Liang Chuan. After being a bright spot on Malaysia’s U16 squad in 2013, Yek made the leap to play in the Asia Cup just two years later in Changsha at the age of just 18.

The senior national team bump was not unwarranted either. Yek flashed plenty of potential at the U16 Asian Championship with 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game that helped Malaysia to three wins.

Among his best performances included 19 points and 7 rebounds against Iran and a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double to beat Jordan.

 A glimpse of Thailand's Future

Thailand went winless at the U16 Asian Championship in 2013, but the experience and exposure of the players certainly helped their development.

One of the players who has gone on to be a key piece of the Thailand national team after playing in Iran back in 2013 is big man Chanathip Jakrawan. In three games, Jakrawan led the team with 9.3 points per game, highlighted by his 17 points and 7 rebounds against the hosts.

It was in Iran yet again where Jakrawan made his senior national team debut during the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016 and he immediately placed himself as a youngster to watch. The 1.97M (6’6”) big man has been a star for Thailand throughout the Pre-Qualifier and Qualifiers for Asia Cup 2021, keeping the fans hopeful for a bright future for the national team.

Who is your favorite rising star from FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2013?

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