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The FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Championship is almost upon us and will take place in Bengaluru between October 28 and November 3.

A total of 8 teams will fight it out for not only medals, but a ticket to the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2019, which will actually be held in Asia – in Bangkok (during July).

All of the tickets have been taken for next year’s showpiece event, with the exception of the spots left up for grabs at this tournament in Bengaluru.

The last three years have seen China, Japan, Korea hoover up the medals – then repeat – and repeat again. Yes, it was the exact same podium in 2012, 2014 and 2016; for a competition that unlike in Europe (which is annual), remains on a two-year cycle.

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The look of the podium will surely now change. That is because for the first time since the amalgamation of the Asia and Oceania Zones, Australia will participate.

There is also the threat of relegation looming large over the smaller teams, since there is a Division B. A remarkable Division B in fact – full of teams who are taking fledgling steps in women’s youth basketball or trying to get back on the map. There is Samoa, Guam and even most remarkably – Syria.

Turning back to Division A where the focus will largely be, this competition has been the place where current national team stars have cemented their reputations.

In recent years, we have seen Li Yueri and Han Xu of course – two players who were on the BlueStar Media radar going back. We saw them in the likes of U17 in Zaragoza and have seen them come through to the recent FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2018 in Tenerife.

Meanwhile quite whether you can truly say that the likes of WNBA draft candidate Ezi Magbegor has played in this competition is debateable to say the least – since that was in the Oceania U18.

So who is going to shine in this competition?

Well in a word – Australia. Surely.

Those who were in Minsk for the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup earlier this year should raise a smile – or two.

No fewer than five players (Isobel Anstey, Agnes Emma-Nnopu, Isabel Palmer, Ashlee Hannan and Lily Scanlon) won bronze with the Australian Sapphires in Minsk. I liked Scanlon in particular and of course Shyla Heal caused the biggest splash, but she is pre-occupied with playing in the WNBL for Perth where she has been fast-tracked for her rookie season.

In addition, Miela Goodchild, Jazmin Shelley and Samantha Simons will bring experience from their Under-17 World Cup gold-medal winning performance two years ago in Zaragoza, while Shelley and Simons also competed for the Gems at the Under-19 World Cup.

Links to Minsk is a theme at this pending event in Bengaluru.

Take New Zealand for example – another former Oceania nation who will compete for the first time against the Asian teams.

They will be reliant on those who powered them at the U17 World Cup, including the highly-rated Charlisse Ledger-Walker who turned heads in the Belarusian capital – although funding pressures and a lack of finance is causing some headaches for the Federation right now.

China will go inside the the imposing powerhouse Liu Yutong who led in both scoring and efficiency in Minsk.

Zheng Ming is also going to be in the house too, and she showed a lot of potential. However, the most important player will surely be Li Yuan who played in Tenerife for the senior team and did a nice job in the backcourt despite her tender age.

Interestingly, Japan have opted to go almost completely 2000-born, but for a couple of players so will feel slightly older.

Ririka Okuyama played young at the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup in Zaragoza and did good, with rebounding presence coming from Maya McArthur, likely to be one of only two players who stepped out in Minsk. Otherwise this team will be fascinating, with many players having not had as much exposure as many other generations. The jury awaits!

As for Korea, watch out for Park Jihyun who actually played with the seniors in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, although was not able to make much of an impression with limited minutes.

Perhaps most intriguing of all in this competition is going to be seeing how Indonesia, Chinese Taipei and Malaysia. Particularly seeing how they all do against their more illustrious neighbors. I am sure the Blue Star Asia will be up on some prospects to watch out for in that respect!

Finally, all the games in this U18 Asia youth tournament will be streamed live on FIBA’s YouTube channel and you can interact on all things across social channels via #FIBAU18Asia

Keep it locked to @basketmedia365

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Paul Nilsen lives and breathes women’s hoops. He’s is a freelance writer working for the sport’s world governing body FIBA where he pens a weekly ‘Women’s Basketball Worldwide Column’ - as well as providing daily content on major club competitions, international tournaments and the women’s youth game. He has an extensive network of contacts across the globe, including an array of elite play-callers and players. Also a qualified coach and referee, he is a big supporter of Blue Star Media and joined as a blogger during the fall of 2016.

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