The final of the 2023 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship will be an all-Oceania affair.
The Asian squads, Philippines and China, fell to Australia and New Zealand, respectively, in the semifinals of the continental meet at the Al-Gharafa Indoor Hall in Doha, Qatar.
The Gilas Boys were routed by the two-time defending champions, the Boomers, 92-36. Meanwhile, the Tall Blacks will make their first final appearance after two consecutive bronze finishes, following an 86-68 win over the Young Dragons.
The third-place match and the final will take place tonight.
It was a dominant win for the much taller Aussies. They limited the young Filipinos to just seven points in the opening 10 minutes and three in the second quarter.
The Boomers dominated the boards, 73-31, while limiting the Philippines to just a 19.7-percent shooting percentage from the field.
On the other end of the bracket, the Tall Blacks neutralized the tall Chinese frontline. They also won the battle of the boards, 52-40, while dominating in the paint.
New Zealand scored all but 30 of their points from inside the paint.
No Gilas player scored in double figures against the Aussies.
Meanwhile, Huan Sinan paced China with 11 points and seven boards.
Every Australian player who was fielded scored, with Dash Daniels leading the way with 12 points and seven rebounds.
In contrast, Lachlan Crate led New Zealand with 23 points.
All four teams have also advanced to the Under-17 World Cup next year in Turkey.
The Scores:
Semifinals 1:
New Zealand 86 – Crate 23, Goodman 14, Matthews 12, Teratana 12, Reed 7, Jones 6, Plumtree 4, Ball 3, Rillstone 3, Dallow 2, Martin 0.
China 69 – Huan 11, He 10, Fu 10, Feng 9, Zhang 8, Huang 6, Li 5, Shen 3, Wang 3, Luo 2, Liu 2.
Quarterscores: 24-15, 46-29, 68-50, 86-69.
Semifinals 2:
Australia 92 – Daniels 12, Pilimai 11, Walker 11, Sewell 10, Cotton 9, Cheesman 7, Dickerson 7, Kuany 6, Riddle 6, Brammall 5, Beauchamp 4, Duff-Tyler 4.
Philippines 36 – Amos 6, Chua 6, Banal 5, Diao 4, Ludovice 4, Morales 4, Williams 3, Alas 2, De Liano 2, Velasquez 0, Alegre 0, Daja 0.
Quarterscores: 22-7, 45-10, 71-20, 92-36.
