1978 ABC Under-18 Championship

1978 ABC Under-18 Championship
Tournament details
Host country Philippines
Dates1−14 October
Teams13 (from 2 confederations)
Venue2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Philippines (5th title)
Runners-up China
Third place Iraq
← 1977
1980 →

The 1978 ABC Under-18 Championship was the fifth edition of the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC)'s junior championship. The tournament was hosted by the Philippines from October 1 to 14, 1978 in Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila and Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City (both cities in Metro Manila), and was held at the sidelines of the 1978 FIBA World Championship. The competition also served as the qualifier for the maiden FIBA Under-19 World Championship, where FIBA Asia has been allocated of two slots.

The Philippines successfully defended their title by sweeping all of their assignments, en route to their fifth straight title, capped by 83-62 victory over China on the final day of competition.

Venues

Metro Manila Philippines
Manila Quezon City Metro Manila
Rizal Memorial Coliseum
Capacity: 8,000		 Araneta Coliseum
Capacity: 25,000*

Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+8:00). The draw for the groups were held on 30 September 1978.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  Philippines (H) 3 3 0 335 183 +152 6 Championship round
2  Japan 3 2 1 251 238 +13 5
3  Iran 3 1 2 191 253 −62 4 Classification 7th-13th
4  Singapore 3 0 3 172 275 −103 3
Source: Groupings
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
(H) Hosts
1 October 1978
Philippines  123–61  Singapore
Scoring by half: 60−37, 63−24
Pts: Saldaña 17 Pts: Tan S.L. 18
2 October 1978
Japan  93–75  Iran
Scoring by half: −, −
3 October 1978
Iran  66–62  Singapore
Scoring by half: 34−37, 32−29
Pts: Shahi 34 Pts: Tan S.L. 16
NBI Gymnasium, Manila
4 October 1978
Iran  50–98  Philippines
Scoring by half: −, −
5 October 1978
Philippines  114–72  Japan
Scoring by half: −, −
UST Gymnasium, Manila
6 October 1978
Japan  86–49  Singapore
Scoring by half: 38−22, 48−27
Pts: Matsuoka 18 Pts: Tan S.L. 14
UST Gymnasium, Manila

Group B

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  China 3 3 0 258 175 +83 6 Championship round
2  Indonesia 3 2 1 245 229 +16 5
3  Malaysia 3 1 2 213 254 −41 4 Classification 7th-13th
4  Bahrain 3 0 3 179 237 −58 3
Source: Groupings
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
1 October 1978
China  85–73  Indonesia
Scoring by half: 45−32, 40−41
2 October 1978
Malaysia  80–66  Bahrain
Scoring by half: −, −
3 October 1978
Bahrain  54–88  China
Scoring by half: −, −
Loyola Gymnasium, Quezon City
4 October 1978
Indonesia  103–85  Malaysia
Scoring by half: −, −
5 October 1978
Malaysia  48–85  China
Scoring by half: −, −
Adamson University Gymnasium, Manila
6 October 1978
Bahrain  59–69  Indonesia
Scoring by half: −, −

Group C

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1  Iraq 4 4 0 321 270 +51 8 Championship round
2  Saudi Arabia 4 2 2 268 279 −11 6
3  Kuwait 4 2 2 270 270 0 6 Classification 7th-13th
4  Hong Kong 4 2 2 269 282 −13 6
5  Thailand 4 0 4 281 308 −27 4
Source: Groupings
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
2 October 1978
Thailand  75–81  Iraq
Scoring by half: −, −
2 October 1978
Saudi Arabia  75–61  Hong Kong
Scoring by half: −, −
3 October 1978
Kuwait  56–62  Hong Kong
Scoring by half: −, −
3 October 1978
Thailand  59–61  Saudi Arabia
Scoring by half: −, −
4 October 1978
Iraq  61–59  Kuwait
Scoring by half: −, −
4 October 1978
Hong Kong  78–64  Thailand
Scoring by half: −, −
5 October 1978
Iraq  87–68  Hong Kong
Scoring by half: −, −
Loyola Gymnasium, Quezon City
5 October 1978
Kuwait  67–64  Saudi Arabia
Scoring by half: −, −
NBI Gymnasium, Manila
6 October 1978
Thailand  83–88  Kuwait
Scoring by half: −, −
6 October 1978
Saudi Arabia  68–92  Iraq
Scoring by half: −, −

Final round

Classification 7th–13th

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts
1  Kuwait 6 5 1 382 339 +43 11
2  Malaysia 6 5 1 444 413 +31 11
3  Bahrain 6 4 2 424 448 −24 10
4  Hong Kong 6 3 3 389 397 −8 9
5  Thailand 6 2 4 492 504 −12 8
6  Iran 6 1 5 202 209 −7 7
7  Singapore 6 1 5 504 527 −23 7
Source: Groupings
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Head-to-head result: Kuwait 74–70 Malaysia.
  2. 1 2 Head-to-head result: Iran 66–62 Singapore.
7 October 1978
Thailand  100–90  Singapore
Scoring by half: −, −
7 October 1978
Hong Kong  88–90  Malaysia
Scoring by half: 39−51, 49−39
7 October 1978
Kuwait  83–57  Bahrain
Scoring by half: −, −
8 October 1978
Malaysia  70–74  Kuwait
Scoring by half: −, −
8 October 1978
Singapore  110–86  Hong Kong
Scoring by half: −, −
8 October 1978
Iran  76–85  Thailand
Scoring by half: −, −
9 October 1978
Hong Kong  W–L  Iran
Scoring by half: −, −
9 October 1978
Kuwait  81–67  Singapore
Scoring by half: 37−38, 44−29
Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Manila
10 October 1978
Singapore  72–76  Bahrain
Scoring by half: 29−29, 43−47
UST Gymnasium, Manila
10 October 1978
Iran  L–W  Kuwait
Scoring by half: −, −
11 October 1978
Bahrain  62–60  Iran
Scoring by half: −, −
11 October 1978
Malaysia  118–103  Singapore
Scoring by half: 64−45, 54−58
Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Manila
12 October 1978
Thailand  82–86  Malaysia
Scoring by half: −, −
12 October 1978
Hong Kong  75–77  Bahrain
Scoring by half: −, −
13 October 1978
Iran  L–W  Malaysia
Scoring by half: −, −
13 October 1978
Thailand  78–86  Bahrain
Scoring by half: −, −

Championship round

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts
1  Philippines (H) 5 5 0 551 348 +203 10
2  China 5 4 1 431 379 +52 9
3  Iraq 5 3 2 459 470 −11 8
4  Japan 5 2 3 422 471 −49 7
5  Saudi Arabia 5 1 4 298 395 −97 6
6  Indonesia 5 0 5 418 516 −98 5
Source: Groupings
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
(H) Hosts
7 October 1978
Philippines  87–52  Saudi Arabia
Scoring by half: −, −
8 October 1978
Japan  83–88  Iraq
Scoring by half: −, −
9 October 1978
Indonesia  81–148  Philippines
Scoring by half: −, −
9 October 1978
China  99–79  Japan
Scoring by half: −, −
10 October 1978
Iraq  108–93  Indonesia
Scoring by half: −, −
10 October 1978
Saudi Arabia  54–78  China
Scoring by half: −, −
11 October 1978
China  107–90  Iraq
Scoring by half: −, −
11 October 1978
Indonesia  62–63  Saudi Arabia
Scoring by half: −, −
12 October 1978
Saudi Arabia  61–76  Japan
Scoring by half: −, −
12 October 1978
Iraq  81–119  Philippines
Scoring by half: −, −
13 October 1978
Japan  108–93  Indonesia
Scoring by half: −, −
14 October 1978
Philippines  83–62  China
Scoring by half: 46−40, 37−22

Final standings

Rank Team Record
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Philippines6–0
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  China5–1
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Iraq5–2
4  Japan3–3
5  Saudi Arabia2–5
6  Indonesia2–4
7  Kuwait5–2
8  Malaysia4–2
9  Bahrain4–2
10  Hong Kong3–4
11  Thailand2–5
12  Iran1–5
13  Singapore1–5
Qualified for the 1979 FIBA Under-19 World Championship

Awards

 1978 ABC Under-18 champions 

Philippines
5th title

References

  1. ↑ "Filipinos are champions again". The Straits Times. 15 October 1978. p. 24. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  2. ↑ Velasco, Santiago. "VIII World Championship (Manila 1978) Game Details". LinguaSport.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Cagers hopes vanish..." The Straits Times. 1 October 1978. p. 24. Retrieved 22 August 2026.