Published: August 22, 2026 at 9:22 pm
Australia brooked no challenge as they took their designated place for a repeat of the Championship title they had last won at Jordan as they towered over Korea in a semifinal encounter winning 111-74 and will clash with China who got the better of New Zealand at the FIBA Under-18 Asia Cup at the Veer Savarkar Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday evening.
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The fast-paced Australians were led by their prolific scorers Yahya Basaran, Jai Fa’ale and Josh McCann as they crossed over with a score of 46-33. The Australians then scored 30 in the third quarter against the 22 scored by the Koreans to take an unassailable 25-point lead.
Defending champs Australia down Iran, set up semis clash against Korea; China meet Kiwis
With William Hamilton, lanky John Aryang and Bailey Hanson chipping in with baskets at regular intervals the winners were in cruise mode. Though Australia faced high conversion from the 3-point area by Jiwon Yoon and Jihoon Yoon, they still managed to stretch the lead as the match progressed.
China down New Zealand
In an earlier semifinal game, China were made to toil for every basket in the 4th quarter by New Zealand who came back from trailing by 22 points at the third quarter.
Chunzhi Zhang, the top scorer for China, scoring over the outstretched hands of New Zealand’s Jackson Ball
China, who won 79-66, at one stage were just ahead by 6 points with less than 5 minutes but the tenacity of the Chinese was seen in full measure as they maintained their momentum towards the end game and sealed a place in the Championship game with Chunzhi Zhang, Yixuan Yang finding the net with their shots
For New Zealand, Jackson Ball was in irresistible form with his drive in shots but by the difference was the long-range shooting by the winners, which saw them garner 11 out of 15 three pointers while New Zealand got in just 2 from 18 attempts
Japan and Iran to meet for 5th place
Japan and Iran will clash for the 5th and 6th placing while Philippines and Chinese Taipei will play for the 7th and 8th positions in the FIBA Under-18 Asia Cup.
In contrasting wins, Japan had to dig deep into their reserves against a fighting hire Chinese Taipei with the score at regulation time being 80-75, with the same points difference at half time (39-34) while Iran leading comfortably with a 25-point (57-32) lead midway went on to register a 105-84 win.
Japan’s Benedict drives past Patrick Pasinos of Philippines during their classification match
Japan’s trio of Benedict, Clayman and Nakamura once again combined well especially in the dying minutes of the game as they withstood the tight defence and a basket each by Clayman and Nakamura in the final minute took them ahead. For the losers, Patrick Pasinos, George Aidan Green and Kenji Yob Moral did the bulk of scoring.
Iran led by Mani Manou and Soheyl Nezhad were in command right through and with notable contributions coming from Mohammad Shamshi, Mohammad Yashar and Amir Raza Azari while Yu Sheng Xing and You-Cheng Jou being the top scorers for Chinese Taipei.
Results (semifinals): China 79 (Chunzhi Zhang 18, Yizhaojie Zhang 12, Zichao Wang 11, Yixuan Yang 10) beat New Zealand 66 (Jackson Ball 23, Cole Hopoi 12, Haoni Ifopo Togia 11, Arana Robertson 11).
Soheyl Nezhad is airborne as he scores a basket against Chinese Taipei
Australia 111 (Yahya Basaran 18, Jai Fa’ale 20, Josh McCann 13, Bailey Hanson 11) beat Korea 80 (Jihoon Yoon 12, Jiwon Yoon 18, Taejoon Park 19).
Classification matches: Japan 80 (Benedict 20, Clayman 15, Nakamura 13) beat Philippines 75 (Kenji Job Moral 21, George Aidan Green 10, Patrick Pasinos 10).
Iran 105 (Mani Manou 26, Soheyl Nezhad 22, Mohammad Shamshi 14, Mohammad Yashar 12, Amir Raza Azari 10) beat Chinese Taipei 84 (Yu Sheng Xing 20, Yu Cheng Jhou 18, Carter Coleman 14, Li- An Chuang 11).
