On June 29, Beijing time, the U18 Women's Basketball Asian Cup continued, with a five- or six-place qualifying match and two semi-finals on this match day. In the five or six qualifying rounds that have ended, New Zealand defeated Chinese Taipei 66-61, New Zealand finished fifth, and Chinese Taipei ranked sixth.
In the first semi-final, Japan faced Australia, who won all three games in the group stage and advanced directly to the semi-finals, and the Australian team was strong and defeated China in the final of the 2022 U18 Women's Asian Basketball Championship. Japan finished second in the group stage with two wins and one loss, and in yesterday's semi-final qualifying round, Japan narrowly defeated Chinese Taipei 76-70 to advance to the semi-finals. It is worth mentioning that the top four teams in this tournament will qualify for the 2025 U19 Women's Basketball World Cup, and the four teams that entered the semi-finals, China, Australia, Japan and South Korea, have already obtained tickets to next year's U19 Women's Basketball World Cup.
In the first quarter of the game, the Australian team took the lead in getting the ball, the two sides played tighter in the opening stage, the Japanese team broke the scoring drought with two free throws, and then Taniguchi hit two three-pointers in a row, and the Japanese team led 7-2, after which the Australian team Somfei used his physical advantage to break through the inside line and score, the Japanese team fell into a scoring drought, the Australian team played a 13-0 offensive to lead 15-7, the Japanese team made two free throws to break the scoring drought, and the Australian team had obvious advantages at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends. A three-pointer from the final stage helped Japan close the gap, and the first quarter ended with Australia leading 19-12.
In the second quarter of the contest, the Japanese team played an 8-3 offensive to narrow the difference to two points, the Australian team's second attack scored to stabilize the situation, Horiuchi Sakura broke through and scored in color, and then the two sides bit the score, Horiuchi Sakura even shot to help the Japanese team 27-25 overtake the score, the Australian team asked for a timeout, the Australian team made another mistake after the timeout, Taniguchi Yuhua scored three points, the Australian team fell into a scoring drought, with Tian Zhongzao two free throws, the Japanese team led 31-25, Crook made an easy layup to help Australia break the scoring drought, and the Australian team made two free throws, and at the end of the quarter, Tian Center made one of two free throws, and Japan led the Australian team 32-30.
Yibian fought again, Tian Center broke through and made two free throws, the Australian team scored four points in a row to tie the score, Matsumoto Rihona hit three points against the defense, Harvey broke through the layup to respond, as Somfi made two free throws inside, the Australian team overtook the score 38-37, and then the two sides started a tug-of-war, the score alternately leaded, Horiuchi Sakura hit a quick stop jump shot, and the Japanese team counterattacked to lead 48-44, the Australian team's shooting rate declined in the second half, and too many opportunities to score easily under the basket were wasted, Japan maintained a slight lead, and at the end of the third quarter, Japan led 50-47.
In the final quarter, the shooting rate of both sides continued to decline, the Australian team played a 6-0 overtake score, the Australian team led 53-50, Tian Center even threw a pass, the Japanese team responded to a wave of 6-0 to regain the lead, and then the two sides continued to fall into a tug-of-war, Tian Center scored three points against the defense, the Japanese team led 59-58, Williams scored Australia's first three points of the game, and the Australian team held a 4-point lead in the last two minutes, with Higashi Xiaoji counterattacking and scored, the Japanese team only fell behind by two points, At the critical moment, Somfeld scored a basket to give Australia a 65-61 lead, and Japan called a timeout, and a fatal mistake in the center of the timeout buried the game, and in the end, Australia narrowly defeated Japan 68-63. Throughout the game, the Australian team had 28 turnovers, but the rebounding 65:28 was far ahead, and it really crushed the opponent with its body.
Australia narrowly beat Japan to advance to the final, where they will face the winner between China and South Korea. The Chinese team is likely to easily win against the South Korean team, and the Chinese team may face the Australian team again in the final, and the two sides met in the final of the 2022 U18 Women's Basketball Asian Cup, and the Chinese team lost to the Australian team and was the runner-up. It is hoped that the Chinese team can advance to the finals, complete revenge, and regain the top of Asia.