2018 FIBA U-18: Malaysia Women relegated to Division B; Top seeds Australia and China qualify for semi-finals

Indonesia secured their place in Division A after a convincing victory over Malaysia. Australia and China book their places in the semi-finals.

Result Classification 7/8: Indonesia defeated Malaysia 86-35 (16-6, 25-9, 27-11, 18-9)

Scorers: (INA: Tricia Mary Aoijs 22 pts, Adelaide Callista Wongsohardjo 14 rebs, 6 assists; MAS: Sin Jie Tan 13 pts, Sin Lu Yong 5 rebs)

The Story: Indonesia defeated Malaysia by 51 points to hold their position in Division A. Malaysia with their loss would be relegated to Division B in the 2020 U-18 Championships.

First Half: Sin Jie Tan’s individual brilliance went in vain as her six-point effort could not stem the flow, as Indonesia take a ten point lead in the first quarter. Tricia Mary Aoijs ten point score took the lead to 26 points.

Second Half: Audy Natazia Christy Thoe and Jesslyn Angelique Aritonang scored six points each as the lead stretched to a massive 42 points in the third quarter. Leonita Angela Suwanto scored five points in the last period to set up a comfortable victory of Indonesia.

Stats: Indonesia converted 32% of their three-point field goals with six of their 19 attempts finding the basket. Indonesia dominated the boards with 59 rebounds (38 defensive and 21 offensive), 20 steals, along with 22 fast break points and 23 points from second chances. Tricia Mary Aoijs converted six of her seven free throws for an 85% success rate. Sin Jie Tan converted five of her six attempts to end up with a two-point conversion rate of 83%.

Star Performer: Tricia Mary Aoijs of Indonesia - 22 pts, 6 rebs, 1 assist, 4 steals, 2 blocks and Player efficiency rating 27.

Jazmin Pamela Shelley of Australia (Image Courtesy: FIBA)

Result Qualifier to Semi's: Australia defeated New Zealand 82-66 (23-15, 18-10, 24-19, 17-22)

Scorers: (AUS: Isobel Anne Anstey 13 pts, 12 rebs, Jazmin Pamela Shelley 6 assists; NZL: Ella Bradley 14 pts, 12 rebs)

The Story: Australia got past the Tall Ferns by 16 points in the matchup between the two Oceanic giants.

First Half: Leah Mafua of New Zealand and Ashlee Hannan of Australia scored six points each as Australia took an eight-point lead over their continental rivals. Miela Goodchild scored eight points with a couple of jump shots to double the Aussie lead to 16.

Second Half: Ella Bradley’s brace of jump shots took her to a ten point score as the Gems raced away to a 21 point lead. A couple of three-point jump shots from Tayla Dalton who tallied eight points in the final quarter was still not enough to bridge the gap as the Gems won comfortably in the end.

Stats: Australia converted 42% of their three-point field goals with eight of their 19 attempts finding the basket. Surprisingly, The Ferns dominated the boards with 48 rebounds (26 defensive and 22 offensive). New Zealand was guilty of turning over the ball 33 times with the Gems scoring 18 steals and 36 points from turnovers. Isobel Anne Anstey made seven of her eight free throw attempts to end with a conversion rate of 88%.

Star Performer: Both Australia's Isobel Anne Anstey (13 pts, 12 rebs, one assist, one steal, and Player efficiency rating 22) and New Zealand’s Ella Bradley (14 pts, 12 rebs, two assists, two steals, and Player efficiency rating 22) earned a double-double.

Yuan Li from China scored a double-double - 20 pts, 11 assists (Image Courtesy: FIBA)

Result Qualifier to Semi's: China defeated Chinese Taipei 80-53 (27-14, 19-10, 12-13, 22-16)

(CHN: Yuan Li 20 pts, 11 assists, Mingling Chen 15 rebs; TPE: Yu-Chieh Chen 11 pts, Hsuan Chia-Hung 5 rebs)

The Story: China registered a 27 points victory over Taipei to qualify for the semi-finals. The fifteen times Champion found themselves in unchartered territory after a group stage defeat to Japan.

First Half: The combination of Yuan Li and Yuyan Li managed twelve points each as China raced away to a 13 point lead after the first period. Yuyan Li garnered her points with four three-point jump shots while Yuan managed a trio of lay-ups. Yutong Liu scored a triad of two-point jump shots scoring eight points extending the Chinese lead to 22.

Second Half: Yu-Chieh Chen’s six-point effort was still not enough to reduce the deficit of 21 points, as China continued to be in front. Wei-Ju Wu scored nine points, but China’s all-around effort stemmed the Taipei challenge handing the victory to China.

Stats: China registered 58% two-point field goal conversions with 25 of their 43 shots finding the basket, along with 26 assists, eight blocks and 20 fastbreak points. Yuan Li of China managed 75% and Yutong Liu with an 83% success rate of two-point field goal conversions.

Star Performer: Yuan Li from China scored a double-double - 20 pts, 9 rebs, 11 assists, 3 steals, and Player efficiency rating 33.

Number 24 Leah Mafua of New Zealand scored a double-double - 13 pts, 10 rebs (Image Courtesy: FIBA)

Result Classification 5/6: New Zealand defeated Chinese Taipei 75-47 (14-9, 23-12, 19-18, 19-8)

(NZL: Charlisse Leger-Walker 18 pts, Leah Mafua 10 rebs, Tayla Dalton 6 assists; TPE: Yu-Chieh Chen 16 pts, Yi Hua Li 5 rebs)

The Story: New Zealand grabbed the fifth place at the FIBA U-18 Asian Championships overcoming Taipei by 28 points.

First Half: With Leah Mafua and Shih Han Hsu scoring five points each the Tall Ferns managed a slender five-point lead in a tight first period. Charlotte Whittaker’s ten-point score increased the lead to 16 points.

Second Half: Yu-Chieh Chen’s eight-point effort managed to keep New Zealand from increasing their lead in the third period. Charlisse Leger-Walker’s scored eight points with a couple of three-point jump shots as New Zealand registered an emphatic win over their Asian counterparts.

Stats: New Zealand registered 32% three-point field goal conversions with nine of their 28 shots finding the basket, along with 26 assists, 63 rebounds (44 defensive and 19 offensive). Taipei was guilty of giving away 22 fouls. Shih Han Hsu of Taipei managed 80% success rate of two-point field goal conversions with four of her five attempts finding the basket.

Star Performer: Leah Mafua of New Zealand scored a double-double - 13 pts, 10 rebs, three assists, Player efficiency rating 21.