2018 FIBA U-18 Asian Championships: Australia, China, Japan and South Korea cruise from Division A

Result Game 1: Australia defeated Indonesia 96-28 (23-2, 21-10, 23-9, 29-7)

Scorers: Australia - Isobel Anee Anstey 20 points, 12 rebounds, Nnenna Agnes Emma-Nnopu 5 steals; Indonesia - Faizzatus Shoimah 8 points, Mario Leony Alvaretta 7 rebounds

The Story: Australia romped past Indonesia with a comfortable 68 points victory in the opening match of the FIBA U-18 Asian Championship at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru.

First Half: Emma-Nnopu scored six points with a couple of lay-up as the Gems raced away to a 21 point lead. Emma Clarke scored seven points as the lead increased to 32 after the first half.

Second Half: Ashlee Hannan ended the third quarter with nine points giving the Gems a 46 point cushion leading up to the final period. Isobel Anne Anstey finished the final period with eight points to set up an easy victory.

Stats: Australia converted 45 percent of their two-point field goals with 20 assists. They dominated the boards with 78 rebounds (38 defensive and 40 offensive) and nine blocks, along with 32 points from second chances with 66 points from the paint.

With Indonesia giving away 33 turnovers the Gems scored 36 points. Australia had 26 steals resulting in 28 fast break points. The Australian bench contributed 42 points in the entire game. Nnenna Agnes Emma-Nnopu finished with a 71 percent conversion of two-point field goals with five off her seven attempts finding the basket.

Star Performer: Australia's Isobel Anne Anstey earned a double-double - 20 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals. Player efficiency rating 28.

Mingling Chen of China chipped in with 19 points and 21 rebounds

Result Game 2: China defeated Malaysia 102-28 (18-10, 25-4, 37-3, 22-11)

Scorers: China - Mingling Chen 19 points, 21 rebounds; Malaysia - Sin Jie Tan 12 points, Sin Lu Yong 5 rebounds

The Story: China crushed Malaysia by 78 points in their first match of the U-18 Asian Basketball Championship.

First Half: Yutong Liu scored nine points on the trot as China took an eight-point lead after the first period. China ran away to a 28 point lead with Mingling Chen scoring seven points.

Second Half: China made a mockery of Malaysia racing to a 63 point lead with Yuyan Li top scoring with ten points. Jiajin Yu ended the final period with eight points to post a convincing win over Malaysia.

Stats: China converted 49 percent of their two-point field goals with 26 assists. They dominated the boards with 86 rebounds (45 defensive and 41 offensive) and eight blocks, along with scoring 36 points from second chances and 66 from the paint. China scored 27 points from turnovers, with 24 fast break points. Chinese bench contributed 63 points in the entire game. Yutong Liu finished with a 72 percent conversion rate of two-point field goals with eight of her eleven attempts finding the basket.

Star Performer: Mingling Chen of China earned a double-double - 19 points, 21 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block. Player efficiency rating 31.

Result Game 3: South Korea defeated Chinese Taipei 64-56 (20-13, 13-7, 20-26, 11-10)

Scorers: South Korea - Inah Park 16 points, 5 steals, Haeran Lee 11 rebounds, Sohee Lee 5 assists; Chinese Taipei: Pei Yi Lo 11 points, Ya-Tong Chen 7 rebounds

The Story: In a close encounter, Korea won by eight points over Chinese Taipei to register their first win of the competition.

First Half: Korea went ahead, into an early seven-point lead in the first quarter through Leeseul Shin’s triad of three-point jump shots and extended to 13 points by the end of the first half with Inah Park’s nine-point score.

Second Half: A resurgent Taipei team came back strongly, with Pei Yi Lo scoring eight points with a couple of three-point jump shots to reduce the deficit by seven. An even final quarter ended with Korea maintaining the lead to get past Taipei.

Stats: Korea garnered 17 assists, 18 steals, and 11 fast break points in the entire game.

Star Performer: Inah Park from South Korea - 16 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals. Player efficiency rating 29.

Result Game 4: Japan defeated New Zealand 77-62 (23-13, 18-16, 11-21, 25-12)

Scorers: Japan - Norika Konno 16 points, Layla Takehara 9 rebounds, Saki Ikeda 5 steals; New Zealand - Charlotte Whittaker 23 points, Charlisse Leger-Walker 13 rebounds)

The Story: In another close encounter, Japan got the better of New Zealand by 15 points to coast to a comfortable victory.

First Half: A couple of three-point jump shots from Ririka Okuyama gave Japan a ten point lead at the end of the first period. Norika Konno scored nine points in the second period as Japan maintained a twelve point lead.

Second Half: A brilliant display from Charlotte Whittaker garnering nine points closed the gap to within two with a quarter to go. Nanako Todo sealed the victory for Japan with a trio of layups and a three-point jump shot to score nine points in the final quarter.

Stats: Japan scored 24 points from turnovers with 18 fast break points and 14 points through second chances. The bench contributed 19 points while 44 points came inside the paint. New Zealand though enjoyed a 53 percent success on conversion of their two-point free throws with 18 of their 34 attempts finding the basket. New Zealand was guilty of turning over the ball 26 times as Japan accounted for 17 steals.

Star Performer: New Zealand's Charlotte Whittaker - 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists. Player efficiency rating 19.