Australia flex on the Philippines, advance to U18 Asia Finals

NONTHABURI (FIBA U18 Asian Championship) – Australia moves on to the FIBA U18 Asian Championship Final after a 77-43 win over the Philippines.

It was the lowest scoring output by Australia so far in this tournament, but their defense still held strong to limit the Philippines to only 43 points.

The Philippines had a great start against the undefeated Australians, holding them to their lowest scoring first quarter and trailed only 14-12. Australia then opened the second interval with a devastating 20-4 run in the first 6 minutes to douse out the hopes of an upset.

The twin towers of the Philippines, Kai Sotto and AJ Edu, were locked and limited for most of the game and held to only a combined 4 points at half time.

Nine players scored at least 7 points for Australia, led the way by 12 from Samson Froiling.

Edu was the top performer for the Philippines with 9 points and 10 rebounds.

Australia moves on the Final to meet New Zealand in the FIBA U18 Asian Championship Final. The two teams met earlier in the Group Phase of this tournament with Australia winning 111-62.

FIBA