FIBA Men U19: United States takes World title

Serbia’s Vasilje Micic goes up against Montrezl Harrell during the championship game of the FIBA Men U19 World Championship.

The FIBA Men U19 World Championships concluded Sunday with the United States running the table during the competition winning all nine games they played, finishing with an 82:68 win over Serbia in the title game. This is the fifth U19 World Title for the US.

Through the tournament the US used a balanced scoring attack with their top scorer only averaging 12.6ppg (the scoring leader of the tournament scored 20.9ppg, the top US player was 18th). Through the nine games the club scored 863 points (95.9ppg) with the 10th highest average being 6.1ppg.

I’m very honored to have had the chance to represent our country, this was a team that was totally unselfish and played solely for the benefit of our country. The guys did everything they could to win the gold medal, and I couldn’t have been more proud about the way they played.
—USA coach Billy Donovan

In the title game Montrezl Harrel dropped in 17, Nigel William-Goss contributed 15, Rasheed Sulaimon added 12 and Marcus Smart scored 11.

Serbia was led by Jovan Novak’s 21 points and Vasilje Micic contributed a 13R/10A double-double.

The Serbians got the early lead, only to have the Americans run off nine straight. Serbia got ahead 18:15 late in the first, but the US contingent held a 26:22 lead at the end of the first frame.

As the second 10 started Serbia pulled to within a point, but then the US went on an 8:2 run to build a small lead. The Serbs pulled back to within a deuce at the mid-game break, 40:38.

Serbia controlled the contest and kept the Americans off balance, not allowing them to play their game. Even though the US but up 46:41 early in the third, but the Serbians once again pulled to within a point, 48:47. A mini run by the US gave them an eight-point lead at 55:47, by the end of the third 10 the US held a 57:51 advantage.

The US opened the fourth with a 13:1 run that put them up 16 and put the game out of reach sending the Americans to the podium to collect their gold medals with an 82:68 victory for the World Championship.

FIBA Men U19 All-Tournament Team: Vasilje Micic of Serbia; Dante Exum of Australia; Aaron Gordon of the US; Dario Saric of Croatia; Jahlil Okafor of the US

Aaron Gordon was presented with the tournament MVP award after averaging 12.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Gordon was also named to the all-tournament team with Jahlil Okafor of the US, Vasilje Micic of Serbia, Dante Exum of Australia, and Dario Saric of Croatia.

In the bronze medal contest, Lithuania defeated Australia 106:100 in overtime.