(Photo FIBA)
Australia extended their reign as FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup-Division A champions by escaping Japan, 83-82, in the Final of the 2026 competitions on Saturday night at the Karisma Arena in Seremban.
Madison Ryan led the Gems with 17 points and 17 rebounds, coming through in the clutch by banking in the go-ahead basket off an Olivia Olechnowicz inbound with nine-tenths of a second left to erase the 81-82 deficit.
Isabel Smith finished with 16 points, Olechnowicz supplied 15 points, while Jemyma Manyok added 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks as they all helped out to wrest control of the game after a slow start.
Australia have become just the third team in competition history to win a ‘three-peat’ after Korea and China, who were the last to accomplish as much during their reign of dominance from 2010 to 2018.
“It was really important for me that we try to win this game because it will be the last Asia Cup for some of these girls,” offered head coach Kristi Harrower. “So, I wanted to make sure that they won today.”
Miya Takeuchi led Japan with 25 points and 6 assists. Takeuchi led the fightback from 15 points down by scoring 18 of her points in the fourth quarter, including the three-pointer for the 82-81 lead with 3.7 seconds left.
Takeuchi eventually earned Tournament Most Valuable Player honors, thus headlining the All-Star Five which also features the Gems tandem of Ryan and Smith, China’s Sun Hanyun, and Lim Yeonseo of Korea.
Riko Katsube made 12 points, while Marin Koike added 12 points for Japan, who took home their first silver medal since 2018 after settling for a runner-up finish behind China, the event’s only 16-time champions.
Li Yuanshan, Sun Hanyun star as China salvage third place
Li Yuanshan and Sun Hanyun saved their best for last, powering China to a 106-69 rout of Korea to finish third in the FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup 2026-Division A.
Yuanshan fired 35 points and 10 assists, while Hanyun produced 32 points and 6 rebounds as the tandem led the third-quarter breakaway to salvage a podium finish after the 16-time champions missed the Final for the first time since 1990.
Teammates since the FIBA U16 Women’s Asia Cup last year, the two knocked down a triple each to open the said chapter, sparking the decisive 10-0 run to inflate their lead to 61-43 with 7:29 on the clock.
And that proved to be the beginning of a lopsided affair, with the young Team Dragon refusing to let up as they vented all their frustrations on the Koreans after that frustrating loss to Australia in the Semi-Finals.
Thanks to Yuanshan and Hanyun, the Chinese will be going home with a consolation bronze, their second ever after winning the first back in 1990 as well – an edition eventually ruled by Korea by beating Japan in the finale.
“They are two very excellent players,” lauded head coach Nan Chen of her two prized charges, who have also played together in the prestigious FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 in Czechia last July.
“They’re both very talented and are also very promising, because they’ve been through the U16 Asia Cup and the U17 World Cup. They proved their ability. But I always tell them they still have a long way to go,” she added.
Others also contributed significantly in the win, with Zhao Zirui supplying 14 points and 6 assists. Pang Yunshu chipped in 12 points for Team China, who finished the tourney with an overall win-loss record of 3-2.
“I want to thank my players today, they gave it their all. They fought hard to win the game. As I said before the game, today’s game wasn’t going to be easy so we prepared,” said Nan. “We played more like a team today.”
Lim Yeonseo, on the other hand, had 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists against 7 turnovers for Korea, who haven’t won a medal in a decade now or since copping bronze in the 2016 competitions in Bangkok, Thailand.
Lee Sohee had 15 points. Cho Heewon made 14, while Kim Damhee chipped in 11 and 5 rebounds in the loss that couldn’t be more painful for the 7-time champions after starting out so promising with a pair of wins.
“The Korean U16 women’s team has a lot of good players. So, we’re very optimistic that in the upcoming U18 tournaments and other events in the future, we will have good players,” said head coach Lee Younghyun.
Australia, Japan, China, Korea, and Chinese Taipei will represent the continent in the prestigious FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2027, set on July 17-25, 2027 in the city of Chengdu in China.
Division A final standings:
1. Australia
2. Japan
3. China
4. Korea
5. Chinese Taipei
6. Philippines
7. New Zealand
8. Malaysia
