THE AUSTRALIAN Crocs have made it three wins from three games at the 2025 FIBA Under-16 Asia Cup, securing a place in the quarter finals of the tournament after defeating Lebanon by 12 points in Mongolia on Tuesday.

Fresh off two massive wins over Bahrain and India, the Crocs were looking to finish the group stage with a perfect record, and maintain their standing as competition favourite. They were coming up against a Lebanon side that had secured a big win over India on day one, before falling in a thriller to Bahrain, and was looking to get back on the winners’ list.

Although the opposition gave them a run for their money and their biggest challenge of the tournament to date, the Aussies were able to still get the job done, holding on for a double-digit win to advance straight through to the quarter finals.

Australian Crocs (73) def. Lebanon (61)

The Crocs started the game where they finished off their last outing, dropping the first six points of the contest, before the Lebanese responded with the next eight, indicating the Aussies had a fight on their hands. It was a scrappy patch of play as the two teams traded baskets, before Isaiah Jorgensen scored seven points in a minute to lead Australia to an eight-point lead at the first change.

Despite trailing at the first change, Lebanon started the second frame in booming fashion, producing a 6-0 run to tie up proceedings a few minutes into the piece as its offence began to line up once again. After the Lebanese took the lead, the Crocs scored nine unanswered points to retake the lead, and a layup from Jorgensen again saw the Aussies lead by seven points at the main change, in their closest game of the tournament.

Although Lebanon was trying to carve into the margin and looked dangerous on the scoring front, it simply could not contain the Aussies down the other end, with the Crocs finding success on the offensive glass, which generated more baskets. A triple from Tom Dammers in the final 20 seconds of the quarter saw Australia lead by 10 points at the final change, and start to truly get some control over the contest with 10 minutes to play.

The Lebanese were still within striking distance in the final minutes of the game, bringing the margin back to six points with four minutes on the clock, leaving plenty of rime to make one final charge and conjure the upset. However, the Australians scored the final six points of the match to seal the result and make sure they remained unbeaten after the group stage.

Jorgensen was again the top performer for the Aussies, dropping another 20 points on 9/14 shooting from the field, despite it being a much lower scoring contest than the days before. Also impressing was Dammers, who had 16 points of his own in a strong display, stepping up for some big baskets when the Crocs needed some.

Johnny Sawma was the standout for the Lebanese, finishing the game with a game-high 22 points to give his side a strong chance against the tournament favourites. Although he could not drag the team to victory, he can still hold his head high.

The Aussies will now have a couple of days off as the quarter final qualification matches determine who their next opponent will be.