Golden starlets of the FIBA Women's Asian U16, Pt. 1

AMMAN (Jordan) - Ever since its inception in 2009, the FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship has become a window for fans to see basketball stars of the future.

Definitely, the upcoming showpiece in Amman will be serving that same purpose. But before looking ahead to next month's event, let's take a look back at some of the players who shone bright in previous editions of the U16 - some of which have now grown into recognizable names today.

Here's the first of a two-part series, where we list down - but not ranked in any order whatsoever, just a quick reminder - some of them in this retrospect.

Li Meng

Li Meng has emerged as a key cog in just her first months with the Washington Mystics in the WNBA, but not a few are no longer surprised since she's already a proven commodity.

The 28-year-old guard has been a mainstay of Team China for over a decade now, and everything began in the inaugural U16 Women's Asian Championship in 2009. There, she averaged 19.3 points to help lead her side to the gold medal via sweep. Quite a way to introduce herself.

She then followed it up with a campaign to remember in the first-ever U17 Basketball World Cup the next year. China bagged home the bronze medal and a huge part of it was Li, who put up per-game norms of 15.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.0 assists - all enough to win MVP honors.

Li became part of the seniors team in 2013 and has since become a regular member, She's won multiple medals as well, including silver in last year's FIBA Basketball World Cup in Sydney.

Saori Miyazaki

Saori Miyazaki was the steady floor general of the Japan team that won the 2011 U16 championship in sweeping fashion, marking the start of her many campaigns with the national squad.

The 27-year-old guard has won titles and medals with the Akatsuki, but definitely none bigger than a silver they copped in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics following a Cinderella run that will be talked about for many years. It was the country's first-ever Olympic basketball medal.

Miyazaki and the crew carried over that historic run into the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2021. That stint was easily her best stats-wise as she averaged 11.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 9.6 assists to help Japan win their fifth consecutive crown in the prestigious continental meet.

She is currently playing for the Eneos Sunflowers in the Women's Japan Basketball League (WJBL).

Evelyn Mawuli

Just like Miyazaki, Evelyn Mawuli is easily considered as one of the Japanese women's team's 'OGs.'

She began representing in the 2009 U16 meet, and would do so again in the next edition to become one of the rare few to have played in the U16 twice - and win medals. Japan settled for silver in the maiden meet before winning gold in 2011, where she averaged 14.0 points in their sweep.

Mawuli would cap off her youth team career in the U17 World Cup, where she almost had a double-double average of 9.4 points and 9.5 rebounds as Japan finished fourth.

She became part of the seniors' team a few years later and would attain more success, including that historic finish in the Olympics. The 1.80 M (5'11') forward, who's playing for the Toyota Antelopes in the WJBL, also has two Women's Asia Cup titles in her rich collection.

Himawari Akaho

Of course, this list wouldn't be complete without the 2021 FIBA Women's Asia Cup Most Valuable Player. Himawari Akaho earned the nod after helping Japan win their fifth straight title behind averages of 10.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists with an efficiency rating of 15.8.

It was indeed a highlight of what's been a fruitful national team career so far, which all began in the U16 meet in 2013 where they won silver. She was part of the Japanese youth teams for about four years, including a back-to-back appearances in the U18 Asian tilt in 2014 and 2016.

A winner of U16 and U18 silver medals, the 1.84 M (6'0)") forward now has two Women's Asia Cup golds, and, most of all, an Olympic silver medal from the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021.

Akaho is presently the captain of Denso Iris in the WJBL.

Charlisse Leger-Walker

New Zealand made their U16 Women's Asian Championship debut in 2017 and Charlisse Leger-Walker was among those who turned it into a platform to showcase their game.

She finished as the tournament's top scorer with 16.2 points, along with 9.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.2 steals with an efficiency rating of 12.5 to help her side to a fourth-place finish.

Leger-Walker would find herself called up to the seniors team just a couple of years later, suiting up in all of their Women's Asia Cup trips so far - including this year.

Now 21, the 1.78 M (5'10") guard has been with NCAA Division 1 school Washington State. She had just finished her junior year with the Cougars, where she averaged 17.7 points - including a 40-piece versus Washington last December - alongside 5.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 30 games.

Huang Sijing

Since 2015, Huang Sijing has become practically one of the Chinese women's team's shoo-ins in almost every major basketball tournament, including the previous two Olympics.

Well, it's a status that she definitely earned, going all the way back to her youth team days. The 27-year-old forward began waving the flag in the U16 competitions in 2011, where they won bronze.

She'd have two more stints in the youth level after that, including the FIBA Asia U18 championships in 2014. It was really in that tourney where she showed how big of a factor she'd be for the program, posting impressive numbers of 20.1 points and 9.7 rebounds to lead China to their 14th title.

Huang was part of the squad that copped the silver medal in last year's Women's World Cup, adding to a medal collection that also has two silvers and a bronze from the Women's Asia Cup.

Yada Sriharaksa

Yada Sriharaksa served as one of Thailand's few bright spots in the U16 festivities in 2017 by being their leading scorer and rebounder with 14.8 points and 9.0 rebounds in 17.7 EFF per game.

That solid campaign was likely because of her experience playing in the FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship the year before. She was the youngest in that team but that hardly matter as she still contributed 9.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 15.7 minutes across three games.

Sriharaksa had also played for the Thais in the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2019 in Bangkok, posting averages of 9.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in seven outings.

*Note: Some of the players aforementioned are taking part in the ongoing FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2023 in Sydney, Australia. To see how they've been doing, click here.

FIBA