By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Team USA won the U19 FIBA World Championship for a second straight tournament by beating France and Victor Wembanyama 83 – 81 in the Final. They finished the competition with a 7 – 0 record.
Wembanyama picked up his fifth foul with 2:42 remaining and France down 79 – 74, exiting the match with game-highs 22 points, eight rebounds and eight (!) blocks in 27:14. He had spent a couple of minutes at the bench since he was called with his fourth foul with 7:22 to play and Le Bleus up 68 – 65.
With Wembanyama at the bench, USA went on to take a 77 – 71 lead entering the final stretch of the game. Louis Lesmond made it 83 – 81 with a corner triple with 29 seconds remaining but France didn’t get a chance for another offense since USA got multiple offensive rebounds after a Kenneth Chandler miss.
Kenneth Lofton (16 points, seven rebounds) and Jaden Ivey (16 points, four steals) were the top scorers for USA. Adam Miller had 12 points, Michael Miles 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists while tournament MVP Chet Holmgren finished with 10 points and five dimes.
Holmgren was named to the All-Tournament Team, along with Ivey, Wembanyama, Serbia’s Nikola Jovic and Canada’s Zach Edey.
Photo: FIBA