Sapphires stay perfect after 2017 Final rematch, Korea get first win

AMMAN (Jordan) - Australia remain undefeated after a win in a rematch of the previous final while Korea gets their first win in the third gameday of the Group Phase in the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship 2022 Division A.

Korea had no trouble taking care of India in the first game of the day, beating India, 101-40.

They led through nearly the entire game to come away with their first victory of the U16 Women’s Asian Championship this year. Korea had a bulk of their possessions come off turnovers, as they recorded 36 steals in total with 5 players getting at least 5 steals.

Nearly all players got on the scoreboard for Korea, led by Yang Inye who had 24 points on 10-11 shooting from the field.

Yang Inye had 24 points on 10-11 shooting from the field

Manmeet Kaur led India in scoring once again with 15 points and also grabbed 15 rebounds.

In the second game of the competition in Division A, Australia won against Japan, 73-65, in what was a rematch of the Final in 2017. The win is Australia’s second straight in as many games. Japan also take in their first loss.

The Sapphires dominated with their size advantage, scoring 56 points in the paint to take a lead of as much as 25 points early in the game. Their defense was spectacular as well as they held Japan to only 36.4 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from the three-point line.

Japan were able to speed up and close the gap to within 5 points in the fourth quarter, but the deficit was too much to overcome in limited time.

It was another big game for Isla Juffermans as she put up 16 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals for the Sapphires. The team had four players score in double-digits while Jayda Clark dealt the majority of their dishes with 8 assists.

Isla Juffermans put up 16 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals for the Sapphires

Yuina Fukatsu was the main player for Japa as she scored 13 points and grabbed 9 rebounds this game.

Japan will try to bounce back into the win column tomorrow at 9:00 (GMT +3) against New Zealand who are also hungry for a win. Meanwhile, Australia will try to keep their win streak going against the winless India at 11;15 (GMT +3).

FIBA