SHENZHEN (China) - Australia passed arguably their toughest test to date as they overcame Japan, 68-63, to advance to the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2024 Final, Saturday evening at the Longhua Cultural and Sports Center.
Monique Williams and Lara Somfai delivered the back-breaking shots in the game's closing minutes to eventually get rid of the smaller yet gritty Japanese and, more importantly, keep their bid of winning back-to-back titles very much alive.
Now they await for the winner between hosts China and Korea in the other Semis bracket, to be played later in the night, to know their foes in the Last Dance.
Game heroes: Somfai led the repeat seekers with 19 points and 10 rebounds, together with 3 assists and a block for a game-best efficiency of 21.
Saffron Shiels came through with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists. Bonnie Deas suppled 10 points while Williams added 8 points and 8 rebounds.
Turning point: Williams only had one triple in the whole game but that proved to the shot Australia so needed as it put them ahead, 61-59, with 3:41 to go.
The Gems would never trail since, with Shiels and Somfai converting crucial buckets of their own to push their lead to 65-61 with under a minute to go.
And serving as the dagger that took the fight out of the Japanese was the teardrop baseline drive by Emilija Dakic to make it a 67-61 count with 29.7 seconds left.
Stats don't lie: Australia imposed their size and strength to collect 65 rebounds yet the game went down the wire, and that's because Japan ran the floor and made their shots with much efficiency - most especially in the early goings.
Sakura Horiuchi set the pace for AKATSUKI JAPAN with 18 points on 46-percent shooting from the field but their gallant stand ultimately fell short.
FIBA