Members of China celebrate after winning the semifinal match against Japan at the FIBA U18 Women's Asian Basketball Championship in Bangalore, India, Sept 10, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

NEW DELHI - China held off Japan's late rally to win 54-51 and set up the final with Australia at the FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship in Bengaluru, India on Saturday.

China, the FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship's winner in the past five editions, will face Australia, who overcame Chinese Taipei 70-61 earlier on Saturday, in the title contention match on Sunday

China almost squandered a 15-point lead after three quarters, seeing their opponents come to as close as two points late in the final period. After Hu Duoling converted one of two free throws with eight seconds to play, China did well in defending Japan's potential game-tying shot from beyond the arc to come through.

China, the tournament's winner in the past five editions, will face Australia, who overcame Chinese Taipei 70-61 earlier on Saturday, in the title contention match on Sunday.

Both China and Japan failed to hit 40 percent in field goals in what was a defense-oriented match, with China outrebounding Japan 46-41.

Chu Huixuan shot 7 of 10 from the field to contribute a game-high 18 points. Li Wenxia and Hu Duoling added 15 and 11 points respectively.

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China lost 76-59 to Japan and finished third in Group B with a win-loss record of 1-2 while securing their semifinal berth after beating South Korea 70-53 on Friday.

Li Qingyang (front left) of China competes during the semifinal match against Japan at the FIBA U18 Women's Asian Basketball Championship in Bangalore, India, Sept 10, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

After Japan scored six points in a row to open the fourth quarter, Hu Duoling finished a second-chance basket to halt China's scoring drought. Feng Guoguo's layup steadied China when Japan approached at 45-51, and China finally escaped with a victory as Japan's desperate 3-pointer hit the rim

China did learn something from their defeat in group matches, such as how to restrict their opponents' fast breaks, and they led 13-12 when the first quarter ran out.

Chu and Li fueled China early in the second quarter with consecutive 3-pointers, and China extended their advantage to nine points at halftime.

Hu's another shot from 3-point range initiated an 8-2 surge for China, who led by as many as 15 points midway through the third quarter.

After Japan scored six points in a row to open the fourth quarter, Hu finished a second-chance basket to halt China's scoring drought. Feng Guoguo's layup steadied China when Japan approached at 45-51, and China finally escaped with a victory as Japan's desperate 3-pointer hit the rim.

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Chinami Yokoyama and Haru Owaki scored 10 points each for Japan, who will face Chinese Taipei in the third-place game on Sunday.