14
Aug
2026 U18 Asia Cup
Gold Standard: Emus title defence off to 70-point flyer
The Australian Under-18 men's team opened the 2026 Asia Cup with a 70-point blow out against Thailand. Photo: FIBA.com
Game Replays
Every Australian game, date and result at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad, India.
- Australia unleashes its biggest teen weapon – elite size
- Yahya Basaran: 'Biggest goal is to play in the NBA'
- Parent exposes junior basketball's uncomfortable truth
Perth Wildcats development player Marley Sam, 17, will miss the opening of Australia's FIBA U18 Asia Cup title defence, and the Emus barely broke stride in their first game, hammering Thailand 102-32 in Ahmedabad on Thursday, August 13, 2026.
Sam put pen to paper on a three-year development player deal with the Wildcats in July 2026, the third year a club option, and was named the 2026 NBL1 West Men's Youth Player of the Year.
GAME 1 REPORT - Australia 102-32 Thailand (Final)
Centre of Excellence guard Jai Fa'ale, 17, put up 22 points as Australia opened their FIBA U18 Asia Cup title defence with a 102-32 rout of Thailand in Ahmedabad on Thursday, August 13, 2026.
Australia led 21-5 at quarter time and were never headed. Thailand's best quarter was their second, and it still ended 25-14 the wrong way.
The third broke it, 34-8. Australia shot 48 per cent from the field to Thailand's 20.
Five Australians finished in double figures. Jai Fa'ale added seven rebounds, five assists and four steals to his 22 points. Will Hamilton, 17, went for 15 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Isaac Riddle, 18, had 13 points and seven boards. Antonio Browne, 16, matched him with 13 points, five rebounds and six assists, and threw down a highlight slam.
Yahya Basaran, 17, had 10 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, and the best efficiency rating on the floor at 27.
Two double-doubles in a first-up game.
Australia led for 39 minutes and 43 seconds of the 40, there were no lead changes, and the biggest run inside it was 22-0.
The Philippines went the other way in the second game of the day, escaping Chinese Taipei 89-88 on a go-ahead shot with 2.2 seconds left, so Group A has two unbeaten teams and they play each other next.
Australia play the Philippines at 3:00pm AEST on Saturday, August 15, 2026, the day Jai Fa'ale turns 18.
About the Australian Emus Under-18 Asia Cup Team
Australian Emus playmaker Antonio Browne, 16, is one of two ball-handlers carrying Australia's FIBA U18 Asia Cup title defence in Ahmedabad, India, where 16 teams play from August 13 to 23, 2026.
Australia are in Group A with Thailand, the Philippines and Chinese Taipei.
Sixteen teams are split into four groups of four, and all three Australian group games tip at 3:00pm AEST and stream free on the FIBA YouTube channel.
Head coach Luke Brennan is not underplaying the zone.
"We have a pretty decent scout on the teams and the style they are projected to bring. The international game always features big athletes, so we will come up against a lot of physical, free-flowing basketball," Brennan told Basketball Australia.
"The Asian zone is on the up and we know we're going to come across some good teams and players. We're focussed on us and making sure we're the best version of ourselves."
It is Brennan's first campaign leading the program, after a stint as a Boomers assistant. He is an assistant coach at South East Melbourne Phoenix.
Brennan has also lost a guard from the group.
Marley Sam, 17, was injured in the week before the squad travelled, after strong domestic form in the west.
Browne and Centre of Excellence guard Jai Fa'ale, 17 on the opening day and 18 on the third, are the two most likely to absorb that and bring the ball up.
Size is the compensation. Yahya Basaran, 17, stands 214cm, the tallest in a squad averaging a shade under 198cm.
Browne has done this on a big stage, running downhill for the Crocs at the FIBA U17 World Cup, where Australia took bronze.
Australia have entered the U18 Asia Cup twice since migrating to the Asian zone in 2017, and won it both times.
The 2018 title was won in Thailand, who are a Group A opponent in Ahmedabad.
The 2024 title was won in Amman, Jordan, where the Emus beat New Zealand 96-33 in the final.
New Zealand beat Australia 82-62 in the FIBA U17 Oceania Cup final in Apia, Samoa on December 13, 2025, the Junior Tall Blacks' first title in that competition.
Australia had beaten them in the seeding game less than 48 hours earlier, after trailing by as much as 19 points.
Will Hamilton, 17, and Fa'ale led Australia's scoring in that final with 12 points and 11.
New Zealand are in Group B in Ahmedabad, which takes the rematch out of the group phase entirely.
The only place the two can meet is the final phase.
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