TEHRAN - Japan finished fifth on Sunday with another come-from-behind win against Iran in the 2023 FIBA U16 Asian Championship.

Japan rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Iran for a second time in this competition, 73-71.

The game was played out similar to their Group Phase clash with Japan jumping out to an early lead before seeing Iran go up ahead by as much as 11 points before the end of the first half. And just like in that first game, Japan rallied back from a 6-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take the lead in the final minutes onwards to the win.

The two daggers by Japan in this game were three-point shots by Aru Takahashi (6 points, 2 three-point shots made) to over take the lead with less than two minutes left and by Ginga Sembo (24 points, led Japan) to make it a 5-point game with one minute to go.

Iman Valizadeh matched Sembo's point total of 24 points for Iran, but they struggled to overcome the 22 turnovers committed in this defeat, fiba.basketball reported.

Australia will play New Zealand in the final match, while the Philippines face China in third-place match.