Australia clinched its third straight FIBA Asia Cup title after squeaking past China 90-89 in the final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday.

Trailing by one point, China had a chance to snatch a win with 3.9 seconds left, but Hu Mingxuan's shot was off-target.

Australia has never lost a game since debuting in the Asia Cup in 2017, with this victory marking the 18th straight victory for the Boomers at the continental tournament.

In their only previous meeting at the competition, Australia cruised past China 97-71 in the 2017 quarterfinals, but it was a totally different scenario in this return encounter eight years later.

China led 25-17 at the end of the first quarter, following consecutive buckets from Hu Jinqiu and Hu Mingxuan. The Chinese squad widened the gap to 15 points in the second period, but the Aussies trimmed the deficit to four at halftime.

The two teams exchanged leads several times in the final quarter, before a free throw by Xavier Cooks gave Australia a 90-87 lead. China closed the gap to one point on captain Zhao Rui's two free throws, only to fall short by the narrowest of margins.

The Aussies prevailed by one point to claim the title, with Cooks leading the way after scoring a game-high 30 points.