Australia achieve unprecedented FIBA U16 Asia Cup ‘four-peat’

Australia completed their quest for unprecedented history by ruling the FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025 following an 85-58 conquest of China in the Final, Sunday at the MBank Arena.

The Crocs took control in the third canto after narrowly leading at halftime, and then broke away come the final canto with a 30-point eruption to annex the first-ever ‘four-peat’ of the biennial continental meet.

In winning their fourth consecutive gold medal in as many campaigns, Australia have also become the contest’s most successful team, breaking a tie with, coincidentally, Team Dragon for the most number of championships.

Team Australia have also extended their unbeaten run in the tilt to 23 games.

Luke Roland Paul starred in the victory with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists, falling just short of a rare triple-double performance on his way to winning Tournament Most Valuable Player honors.

Will Hamilton finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Henry Browne made 14 points and 8 rebounds as well, while Lucas Byrne added 11 points and 7 rebounds as four players finished in double figures in the win.

Zhang Yizhaojie, on the other hand, paced China with 13 points in the loss, settling for a silver medal for the second time as the three-time titilists once again fell to Australia in the finale similar to 2017 in Foshan.

Meanwhile, New Zealand copped bronze after escaping Japan, 93-92, in a thrilling Third-Place Game.

Marco Sula starred for the Junior Tall Blacks, nailing the eventual game-winner off a baseline drive with 1.6 seconds left as they went on to win the said medal for the third time since joining the event in 2017.

Tawhiri Cate top-scored for New Zealand with 17 points and 7 assists. Lawson Pryor made 12 points while Liam Keogh and Zach Rampton added 10 points apiece as all their efforts were preserved by Sula.

FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025 final standings:

1. Australia
2. China
3. New Zealand
4. Japan

Luke Paul bags home MVP honors, headline All-Star Five

Luke Paul reaped the benefits of his efforts after bagging home Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors in the FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025, Sunday night at the MBank Arena.

The 1.90 M (6’2″) guard was bestowed with the competition’s highest individual honor after helping Australia complete their quest toward a historic ‘four-peat’ with an 85-58 beatdown of China in the Final.

He finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists in the title bout as his all-around showing enabled the Crocs to win the gold medal for the fourth time, breaking a tie with the Chinese for the most number of crowns.

Paul finished the tournament with per-game averages of 14.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists to help the Australians stretch their unbeaten streak to 23 games in the biennial continental festivities as well.

By winning MVP, Paul bannered the All-Star Five, which also featured his teammate Will Hamilton, the China tandem of Zhang Yizhaojie and Zhang Ziyi, and Tawhiri Cate of bronze medalists New Zealand.

Hamilton, who was named the 2024 FIBA U15 Oceania Cup MVP, had 16 points and 8 rebounds in the Final and went on to finish the 2025 U16 Asia Cup with norms of 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists.

Yizhaojie, on the other hand, was a major driving force behind China’s return to the Final after eight years as he led his team in scoring with 16.2 points, all while collecting 4.5 rebounds and the same amount of assists.

Ziyi, for his part, provided solid presence inside for Team Dragon as evidenced by his averages of 11.2 points and 8.5 rebounds plus 1.8 blocks, as the promising center was among the 10 best shot-blockers of the tourney.

Cate, lastly, helped the Junior Tall Blacks ensure a podium finish with 17 points and 7 assists in their 93-92 win over Japan. He ended the meet with 13.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 7.8 assists to his name.

Source: FIBA