China, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand head to Semi-Finals, U17 World Cup

DOHA (Qatar) - Australia, China, New Zealand, and the Philippines earn their tickets to the Semi-Finals and to the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024.

Another one for the Crocs

Australia win their Quarter-Finals matchup against Jordan in dominating fashion, 117-50.

The Crocs have now scored at least 100 points in four straight games, extending their winning streak in the competition to 15. Seven players scored in double-digits in this game for Australia led by Henry Sewell who had 18 points and 13 rebounds. Every player recorded at least 1 assist for the team, combining for 34 assists in total - their third game of at least 30 assists this year in the competition.

The win gets Australia to the Semi-Finals as they aim for a third straight title, while also earning them a spot at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024.

Access denied: Huan, China block Iran from making history

In an exciting clash between the Asian basketball powerhouses, China defeated Iran 62-56 to reach the Semi-Finals.

Even though Iran had beaten China in their two latest encounters at the youth level (U18 Asian Championship 2016 and U19 World Cup 2015), they had yet to beat China in the U16 Asian Championship after two previous clashes. That losing streak was extended to three games, despite a valiant effort by Iran, in a tightly contested game.

Neither team went up ahead by double-digits and saw the lead change hands 11 times, but in the end, it was China who remained composed to the end to stay on top at the buzzer. Iran had the gap trimmed down to two points with less than 4 minutes left in the game, but Ziheng Wang stole the ball on two straight possessions to swing momentum back China's way.

Sinan Huan blocked an attempt by Iran in the final seconds that potentially could have turned it to a one-possession game, shutting down all hope for good. Huan recorded a total of 6 blocks in this game, the most in U16 Asian Championship since Kai Sotto in 2017.

Leading the way for China once again was Boyuan Zhang who had 22 points including an off-balanced three-point shot in the final minutes that silenced the Iran bench.

Iran's defense kept sharpshooting China to only 6-23 from downtown in this game, but it was not able to overcome the 27 turnovers committed by the team.

The win keeps China's streak going of making it to every Semi-Final of the U16 Asian Championship they play in. They are aiming for fifth trip to the Final and a fourth U16 title to add to their resume.

Junior Tall Blacks set team records for third straight Semi-Finals appearance

New Zealand ran away with a 110-33 victory over Qatar to secure a third consecutive Semi-Finals bid in as many appearances in the U16 Asian Championship.

The Junior Tall Blacks dominated on all ends, holding Qatar to only 19.0 percent shooting from the field. The points scored by Qatar are the least amount of points ever allowed by New Zealand in the competition. They also grabbed 67 rebounds, the most by a New Zealand team in the competition. This is also the most points scored by New Zealand in the competition ever since their first game when they scored 124 points, resulting in their largest victory.

Five players scored in double-digits for New Zealand, with two surpassing the 20-point mark in Lachlan Crate (20 points) and Oscar Goodman (23 points). Meanwhile, Troy Plumtree had a big double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds.

New Zealand are also headed back to the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup with the victory.

Alas, Batang Gilas are through to the Semis

The Philippines came from down by double-digits to punch their ticket to the Semi-FInals with a 64-59 win over Japan.

Japan lead by 10 points and halftime and looked in control of the game at that moment. Once the second half started, Kiefer Alas started to take over. The Philippines' rising star nearly outscored the entire Japan team in the second half by himself with 24 points in the last two quarters, before ending with a total of 29.

Japan never gave up and had some bursts that threatened to reclaim the advantage in the final quarter, but there was too much momentum on the Philippines end.

Not only does the win get the Philippines to the Semi-Finals, they also earn a spot at the U17 World Cup next year as well.

Upcoming games (23 September 2023)

Classification 5-8

Qatar vs Iran - 11:30 (GMT +3)
Jordan vs Japan - 14:30 (GMT +3)

Semi-Finals

New Zealand vs China - 17:30 (GMT +3)
Australia vs Philippines - 19:30 (GMT +3)

Daily Highs

Efficiency: 29 - Troy Plumtree (NZL)
Points: 29 - Kiefer Alas (PHI)
Rebounds: 17 - Troy Plumtree (NZL)
Assists: 6 - Indy Cotton (AUS), Alexander Dickeson (AUS)
Steals: 4 - Multiple players
Blocks: 6 - Sinan Huan (CHN)

Results and Fixtures

Quarter-Finals

Australia vs Jordan - 117-50
China vs Iran - 62-56
New Zealand vs Qatar- 110-33
Japan vs Philippines - 64-59

FIBA