Japan continue to have Lebanon's number, sets up all-East Asia Final with Korea

TEHRAN (Iran) - Japan did not allow any upset to take place, continuing their mastery over Lebanon through an 80-67 win on the way to the FIBA U18 Asian Championship 2022 Final, Friday night at the Azadi Basketball Hall.

Hiyuu Ozawa led the way with 21 points, while Yuto Kawashima flirted with a double-double to the tune of 19 points and 9 rebounds in the triumph that arranged a meeting with Korea in a battle of East Asian rivals for the crown.

It will be the Japanese dribblers' return to the Asian U18 finale since 2016, where they went back home with a silver medal after bowing to host Iran.

The win, however, didn't come as easy as their Group Phase duel earlier this week, with the Akatsuki Japan having to ward off their foes in the fourth.

They led by 16 points early but the Cedars came back and inched within just a field goal, 65-64, following Bryan Mansour's jumper with 5:17 to go.

Luckily for Japan, Hayato Wakugawa was able to stop the assault by knocking both free throws for a four-point cushion. 

Ozawa and Kawashima came to help him out afterwards, making the most of their opportunities from the foul line as Japan slowly made the game out of reach, eventually foiling Lebanon's hopes of earning an upset.

Wakugawa finished with only 8 points, but did a little bit of everything as he collected 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

The much-anticipated Final on Sunday will just be the first time ever that Japan and Korea will face each other for Asian U18 supremacy.

Lebanon, on the other hand, was led by Karl Kozah's 17 points. Abdul Rahman Sabbagh was his only support with 11 points in the loss as usual providers Karim Rtail and Bryan Mansour were limited to 8 and 5 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Philippines and Iran set up a meeting in the fifth-place game after passing their respective tests in the Classification Round.

Gilas Youth got the first seat by beating Chinese Taipei once again, 72-67, but not before surviving a tough endgame stand by their opponents.

The Filipino cagers led by as many as 20 points, but the seven turnovers they committed in the last five minutes allowed the opposition to knock within just five. But luck was on their side as Chinese Taipei ran out of time.

Mason Amos led the Philippines with 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. EJ Abadam and Jared Bahay backed him up with 14 points apiece.

Wei Chieh Yeh led Chinese Taipei with 17 points as they fell short in exacting vengeance against the team that beat them in the Group Phase, 84-73. They have now lost three in a row since starting the tilt with back-to-back wins.

Iran then finalized the battle for fifth following their 37-point demolition of Qatar in the second offering of the four-game playdate.

Mohsen Asgari Nia fired a game-high 18 points to lead Team Melli, who jumped to a 20-6 lead in the first 10 minutes and hardly faced any resistance since. Sarem Jafari had 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Hamad Yassin Mousa and Mohammed Hashim Abbasher, meanwhile, finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively, to lead Qatar in the loss, which relegated them to the seventh-place game against Chinese Taipei.

FIBA