Recap of FIBA U-18 Asian Championship Divison A: Australia and China suffer defeats at the hands of Korea and Japan

The concluding group matches dished out entertaining games as the Korean girls scraped through a tough Aussie team, while 15-time Champions China received a jolt after they were upset by a strong Japanese contingent.

Result Game 1: South Korea defeated Australia 63-62 (13-10, 14-8, 21-21, 15-23)

Scorers: (KOR: Sohee Lee 21 pts, 7 assists, 6 steals, Haeran Lee 7 rebs; AUS: Isobel Anne Anstey 19 pts, 15 rebs)

The Story: South Korea scraped through by a solitary point in an exciting encounter against Australia.

First Half: Isabel Leigh Palmer’s solo effort of seven points got nullified by Inah Park and Sohee Lee scoring four points each to put Korea in the lead by three points. Sohee Lee scored six more points with a couple of three-point jump shots to finish the half with a nine-point lead.

Second Half: Isobel Anne Anstey scored a quartet of lay-ups for her ten points for Australia to maintain the lead at nine. Jihyun Park ended the third period with nine points for Korea. In a thrilling final quarter, Jazmin Pamela Shelley scored eight points including a couple of three-point jump shots to bring Australia back in the game.

Korea who was leading by 13 points with five minutes to go was in for a rude shock when Australia went into the lead by one point with a minute to go. Haeran Lee’s crucial two-point jump shot with less than ten seconds remaining restored the lead for Korea as they won a nail-biting encounter against the Gems.

Stats: Korea converted 36% of their three-point field goals with nine of their 25 attempts finding the basket. The Gems dominated the boards with 54 rebounds (31 defensive and 23 offensive), 20 points from second chances, 36 points in the paint and 22 fastbreak points. Jihyun Park made four of her five free throw attempts to end with a conversion rate of 80%.

Star Performer: Australia's Isobel Anne Anstey earned a double-double - 19 pts, 15 rebs, 1 assist, 2 blocks, and Player efficiency rating 24.

Yu-Chieh Chen of Chinese Taipei. (Image Courtesy: FIBA)

Result Game 2: Chinese Taipei defeated Indonesia 99-54 (30-7, 22-13, 26-13, 21-21)

Scorers: (TPE: Yu-Chieh Chen 13 pts, Chih Ying Chen 8 rebs, Shih Han Hsu 10 assists; INA: Tricia Mary Aoijs 15 pts, 8 rebs)

The Story: Chinese Taipei registered a comfortable 45 point victory over Indonesia for their first victory of the competition.

First Half: Hsuan Chia Hung’s triplet of three-point jump shots gave an early 23 point lead for Taipei over Indonesia. Chih Ying Chen and Leonita Angela Suwanto scored six points each for Taipei and Indonesia as the lead extended to 32 points at the end of the first half.

Second Half: A team scoring effort from Taipei saw them stretching the lead to 45 points in the third quarter. Leonita Angela Suwanto scored eight points with a couple of three-point jump shots as Indonesia ended their best quarter of the game on level terms with Taipei at 21-21.

Stats: Taipei converted 33% of their three-point field goals with 11 of their 33 attempts finding the basket. Taipei dominated the boards with 62 rebounds (38 defensive and 24 offensive), 29 assists, 18 steals, ten blocks, along with 44 fast break points. The players from the Taipei bench contributed 61 points.

Yu-Chieh Chen converted all six of her free throws for a 100% conversion rate. Chih Ying Chen converted five of her seven attempts to end up with a two-point conversion rate of 71%. Leonita Angela Suwanto of Indonesia had an 85% conversion rate on free throws while Adelaide Callista Wongsohardjo ended with 83%.

Star Performer: Yu-Chieh Chen of Chinese Taipei - 13 pts, 8 rebs, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, Player efficiency rating 21.

Norika Konno of Japan (Image Courtesy: FIBA)

Result Game 3: Japan defeated China 94-79 (23-24, 18-21, 29-16, 24-18)

(JAP: Norika Konno 19 pts, Maya Sophia McArthur 7 rebs, Yuzuka Ishihara 5 assists; CHN: Mingling Chen 16 pts, 15 rebs, Yuan Li 9 assists)

The Story: Japan upset China registering a 15 point victory over the fifteen time Champions.

First Half: Yuan Li from China scored nine points while Nanako Todo of Japan garnered ten points as China took a slender one-point lead in the first period. Miyabi Sakamoto’s seven-point effort cut short the Chinese lead to four points after Yuyan Li scored a couple of three-point jump shots.

Second Half: Norika Konno’s ten-point effort turned around the game for Japan as they took a nine-point lead in the third quarter. Layla Takehara’s eight-point score sealed a remarkable victory for Japan in the final period.

Stats: Japan registered 50% three-point field goal conversions with five of their ten shots finding the basket, along with 12 steals and 23 points from turnovers. Mingling Chen of China and Miyabi Sakamoto of Japan converted five of her seven attempts to end with 71% of two-point field goal conversion.

Star Performer: Mingling Chen from China scored a double-double - 16 pts, 15 rebs, 4 assists, 2 blocks, Player efficiency rating 27.

Ella Bradley of New Zealand (Image Courtesy: FIBA)

Result Game 4: New Zealand defeated Malaysia 99-32 (29-12, 26-7, 22-6, 22-7)

(NZL: Charlotte Whittaker 18 pts, Ella Bradley 12 rebs, Koha Lewis 8 assists; MAS: Weng Yen Chan 10 pts)

The Story: New Zealand overwhelmed Malaysia by 67 points in their second group game in Bangalore.

First Half: Charlotte Whittaker’s eight-point effort put the Ferns up by 17 points in the first period. Tayla Dalton scored seven points in the second period as the lead surged to 36 points.

Second Half: Charlotte Whittaker’s triad of lay-ups took her to eight points in the third period with the overall lead at 52. Malaysia scored their six points in the last two minutes through Weng Yen Chan’s three-point efforts. Leah Mafua scored five points in the final period as the Ferns ran away victors in their last group game.

Stats: New Zealand scored 32 assists, 68 rebounds (43 defensive and 25 offensive), five blocks, 30 points from turnovers, with 37 fast break points and 34 points through second chances. The bench contributed 57 points while 70 points came inside the paint. New Zealand enjoyed a 63% success on conversion of their two-point field goals with 39 of their 62 attempts finding the basket.

Malaysia was guilty of turning over the ball 22 times as New Zealand accounted for 14 steals. Rochelle Fourie and Tayla Dalton had a 77% conversion of two pointers with seven of her nine attempts finding the basket. Charlotte Whittaker ended with an 80% rate of two-point conversion with eight of her ten attempts.

Star Performer: New Zealand 's Charlotte Whittaker - 18 pts, 7 rebs, 1 steals, and Player efficiency rating 22.