ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia)- New Zealand left nothing to chance and took control of the scoreboard early on but needed a last gasp effort to stave off a gallant Japan tally and win 93-92 in the bronze medal play-off on the concluding day of the FIBA U16 Asia Cup at the M Bank Arena on Sunday.
The result helped the coach Ben Sheat’s team with their fourth successive medal in the competition in as many appearances. Japan a losing finalist of the 2022 edition in Qatar thus missed out on their fourth medal having appeared in all the eight editions so far.
Both teams, however, had already booked their tickets to the FIBA U17 World Cup 2026 in Turkey.
A strong support coming from the bench took New Zealand on a 11-0 spree, breaking away from an evenly poised tilt to close the opening quarter very strong.
That surge seemed to keep them in good stead till Japan staged their fourth quarter rally.
Keiji Koshi’s jumper followed by a long ranger put Japan ahead for the first time in the game with 25 seconds left.
Jackson Couper’s success from beyond the arc brought New Zealand back to par, but when Shunzuko Miyazoto lined up at the foul-line, Japan seemed to have turned from being hunted to becoming the hunter.
Miyazato found success only on one of the two attempts from the foul-stripe and in the following play, Marco Sula utilised a Japanese defense misread and his layup clinched the game for New Zealand.
Tawhiri Cate was New Zealand’s highest scorer with 17 points and 7 assists.
Koshi led all scorers with 24 points, 17 of them in the second half.
FIBA