Australia completed a hat-trick of FIBA Asia Cup basketball titles with a thrilling 90-89 win over People’s Republic of China in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday (17 August).
After comfortable wins over Philippines and Islamic Republic of Iran in their previous games, the Boomers trailed by 14 early in the second period. Xavier Cooks then engineered the comeback which maintained Australia’s unbeaten record since their tournament debut in 2017.
A run of nine unanswered points late in the first period, including seven from Hu Jinqiu, put China into a 22-14 lead inside King Abdullah Sports City. Jaylin Galloway replied with a three-pointer, but Australia trailed 17-25 at the end of the quarter.
China scored the first six points of the second before Cooks got to work. The Sydney Kings star, who played 10 games for the NBA’s Washington Wizards at the end of the 2022-23 season, bagged 11 points in the period.
Australia went on a 12-point streak to level at 40-40, but Hu Mingxuan’s third three-pointer out of three helped send China into half-time with a 46-42 lead.
Galloway and Owen Foxwell put Australia up 53-50 lead early in the third, but China roared back. Cheng Shuaipeng hit a three-pointer for 71-65 late in the period. With eight seconds on the clock, Galloway connected from distance again to make it a three-point game going into the final 10 minutes.
Having had a quieter third quarter, Cooks came out firing in a fourth period which was nip and tuck all the way. Galloway and Hu Mingxuan exchanged three-pointers with the latter scoring 2:15 from time to put the Chinese 87-86 ahead.
The Australian defence then stood firm, not giving up another point for over two minutes. In the meantime, a William Hickey basket and a free throw from Will Magnay made it 89-87.
With seven seconds to go, Jack White blocked a Lei Meng three-point attempt before Cooks was fouled. But the forward was penalised for unsportsmanlike conduct before hitting one of two free throws. Zhao Rui then made both free throws to close the gap to one, but Hu Mingxuan could not make the three-pointer on the buzzer as Australia joined China (three occasions) as the only nation to claim three consecutive crowns.
Cooks finished with 30 points and nine rebounds, with Galloway making six three-pointers in his 23-point haul. For China, Hu Mingxuan had 26 points – including five from seven on three-point attempts – with Hun Jinqiu posting 20 points and 10 rebounds.
This was by far the sternest test Australia have faced in their Asia Cup history. They beat Lebanon 75-73 in the 2022 final in Jakarta, Indonesia but that was after taking a 14-point lead into the final period.
Earlier, 2017 runners-up IR Iran returned to the podium with a 79-73 win over New Zealand’s Tall Blacks in the third-place game. Seyed Jafari scored a game-high 22 points with five assists, while Arsalan Kazemi dominated the paint with 15 rebounds and 16 points.
