Undefeated Japan, Australia confirm Semi-Finals spots, hosts India heartbroken by New Zealand

BENGALURU (India) - Japan and Australia qualify for the Semi-Finals as they stay undefeated, while New Zealand survive an upset scare in Day 3 of the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship 2022 Division A.

Chinese Taipei kept their momentum going after a monumental win over China with a victory over Indonesia, 81-16, to start the day.

Coach Chen Mei-Li took the opportunity to rest some of her key players as all Chinese Taipei players that saw the court played at least 11 minutes and all got on the scoreboard in a big win.

Australia had their first game scoring under 100 points in this competition, but still came away with a resounding win over Korea, 96-66, to stay undefeated.

Korea tried to stay close and did so in the first quarter, but Australia broke away with an early 12-0 run and never looked back.

Nyadiew Puoch shined in this win for the Gems with 23 points and 8 rebounds while Tess Heal added 16 points and 3 assists.

In the big matchup of the day, Japan won in a revenge Final rematch against China, 76-59, to deal the defending champions their second straight loss of the competition.

 

Japan were in control in the first half and looked to run away with the win after leading 42-25 at halftime, but China battled their way back to make it a 5-point game heading into the final quarter.

Coach Natsumi Yabuuchi’s squad was unrattled and locked down China in a 22-10 fourth quarter to stay undefeated. Japan had lost to China in the final of the most recent U18 Women’s Asian Championship in 2018, 89-76, and this win can give Japan a slight edge as they aim to dethrone the five-time consecutive champions.

Chinami Yokoyama had her best game yet for Japan with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists while three other players also scored in double-digits for Japan.

On China’s side, it was Li Wenxia who led the team in scoring again with 18 points in this game to go with 8 rebounds.

With their wins, Japan and Australia confirm their spots at the top of their groups. This gives them direct tickets to the Semi-Finals while also confirming their qualification for the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup next year.

 

The final game of the day was also an important one between New Zealand and hosts India, as it would advance the winner to the Qualification to the Semi-Final round.

Despite the hosts furious attempts to complete the comeback, New Zealand survived with a 66-63 win.

The young Tall Ferns had led by as much as 15 points which was at the half-time break, but India never backed down and creeped to make it a close game in later minutes of the third quarter.

New Zealand never fell behind, but saw the score tied up twice in the final minutes, notably at 63-63 after a three-pointer by Deepthi Raja. Nonetheless, India could not put in the final touches to get ahead and allowed Mackenzie Chatfield to make the go-ahead basket with one minute left.

Chatfield had been struggling to find the bottom of the net in the game, shooting only 4-14 from the field, but she scored when it mattered the most to finish with 8 points while also logging 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Aria Cowley led the team in scoring with 16 points and 6 boards.

Despite the heartbreaking loss, India saw great performances from Manmeet Kuat who had 21 points and 12 rebounds, as well as the aforementioned Raja who had 14 points on 4 three-pointers and 12 steals.

New Zealand will now face Chinese Taipei in the Qualification to Semi-Finals round, while Korea will face China.

FIBA