Five reasons to get excited for the start of #FIBAU18Asia!
BENGALURU (FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship 2018) – The continent's biggest junior women's championship is almost upon us.
BENGALURU (FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship 2018) – The continent's biggest junior women's championship is almost upon us!
LIVE with @JAPANBASKETBALL at the #FIBAU18Asia 😊 https://t.co/CoTNaWwMQs
— FIBA (@FIBA) October 26, 2018
As the teams shake off their varying levels of jet lags, get acclimated to India's weather, complete their fun photoshoots, get through one final round of pre-event warmups and gear up for the start of the Championship tomorrow, it is time to highlight some of the biggest potential storylines that will get played out over the coming week.
Yesterday, we listed out the 10 most important things you needed to know about #FIBAU18Asia. Adding to that, here are five reasons to get super excited for the start of the FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship 2018:
1) China's quest for a five-peat: Will they? Won't they? That is the big question as the 15-time champions begin their campaign for a fifth straight title. With the addition of reigning FIBA Women's U17 World Champions, Australia, China's path to gold has just gotten a whole lot tougher.
#TuesdayThoughts @BasketballNZ 🇳🇿👉🏻 #CharlisseLegerWalker will be among the most experienced players at the #FIBAU18Asia
— FIBA (@FIBA) October 23, 2018
Link to event ---- https://t.co/CEUzXsu1kK ---- pic.twitter.com/3YSFCRsraZ
2) Chance to see future woman stars: Do names like Alanna Smith, Ezi Magbegor, Li Yeuru, Moeko Nagaoka or Ji Su Park ring a bell? That's probably because you first heard of them at previous editions of the #FIBAU18Asia. The springboard of senior level talent, the #FIBAU18Asia has traditionally been the platform for breakout performances by future stars on both the women's and men's circuits.
🔥💯 So much TALENT will be at display in Bengaluru 🇮🇳 #FIBAU18Asia @JAPANBASKETBALL @BFI_basketball @BasketballAus @BasketballNZ https://t.co/0u2soG4d2k
— FIBA (@FIBA) October 25, 2018
3) Exceptional Talent on Display: There are 14, yes 14, Division A players in action who have already proved themselves earlier this year, at the highest level possible- the FIBA Women's World Cup. While 12 of them competed at the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup, the remaining two (China's Yuan Li and Korea's Jihyun Park) debuted at the senior Women's World Cup 2018!
5) Guam and Samoa's first Asian adventure: The fact that these two Pacific island teams are even participating here is cause for celebration. How far these two sides will go in Division B will be revealed in coming days, but the maiden appearance of these Oceania zone teams is proof of the deepening global popularity of basketball. Guam and Samoa's debut appearance is especially sweet considering that it comes in FIBA Oceania's golden jubilee year.
FIBA