Japan aiming for a colossal upset in FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women Final

BANGKOK (FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women 2016) - The final day of the FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand is upon us, and the Final promises to be a classic David versus Goliath battle as Japan take on China.

Japan v China

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Coming in as the undisputed favorites, China - the defending champions - have won all their six games so far and are expected to cruise to their fourth U18 title in a row. Opposing them are Japan, who placed third in Group I before pulling the rug from under Korea in yesterday’s Semi-Finals. The Japanese have been China's foes in the last five U18 Finals, and the Akatsuki Five are hoping they can muster the magic that helped them hoist the title in 2008.

For sure, however, Japan will have their work cut out for them as China have been, by far, the most dominant team in the entire field so far. Coach Cong Xuedi's wards have imposed their will thanks to superior size and strength, and there is hardly any sign of their slowing down. They have defeated their opponents by an average of 36.5 points, though the Japanese had the smallest margin of defeat at just 15 points, 76-61, last 16 November. Not surprisingly, China currently pace the entire tournament in scoring, rebounding, assists and blocks.

Leading the way for them has been the twin tower pairing of Li Yueru (2.00m) and Han Xu (2.05m), who have combined to score 27.0 points and grab 19.3 rebounds per game. Their dominance has been balanced by the wonderful playmaking of guard Wang Jiaqi, who is putting up 14.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and a tournament-leading 5.3 assists per contest. Without a doubt, coach Cong will continue to lean on this three-headed monster to pocket the crown.

As for Japan, coach Hitoshi Takahashi is planning to dictate the tempo and disrupt China's flow. That was what they did yesterday against Korea, which drew a big game from star center Park JiSu but had little support from the rest of the team. Takahashi will hedge his bets on Japan's top players like Mai Yamamoto, Himawari Akaho and Stephanie Mawuli. In their previous game against China, the Japanese were able to force 21 turnovers, and they are hoping for the same kind of tenacious defense here in the Final.

Japan are also looking to play aggressively and continuously attack the basket. If they can draw plenty of fouls from China, they can keep the game close, especially with their tournament-leading 66.0% success rate from the stripe.

All eyes will be on Japan and China in the Final, and though the Chinese are the standout favorites, nobody should quickly look past the Japanese, who are capable of springing a colossal upset. They did it in 2008 when they prevailed, 90-87, and who’s to say it won’t happen again?

FIBA