For the eighth time in FIBA U19 World Cup history, the USA Men’s U19 team is bringing the gold back home.
The star-studded roster capped off its dominant run in the World Cup with a 83-81 victory over France.
No better feeling 🏆
— USABJNT (@usabjnt) July 11, 2021
🥇 #GoldHabits x 🇺🇸 #USABMU19 pic.twitter.com/quBJmxX4BC
A star-studded roster faced a daunting matchup with France in the championship, pitting 7’1″ Chet Holmgren on the 7’2″ 17-year-old Victor Wembanyama. The projected first overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Wembanyama posted a team-high 22 points and eight rebounds while swatting eight shots in the process.
France continued to give the US fits throughout the game, leading by four heading into the fourth quarter. Holmgren’s length and ease around the rim got the ball rolling with five straight points out of the quarter that snowballed into an 11-0 run.
The Gonzaga freshman – named tournament MVP – finished the tournament averaging 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and just under three blocks a game while shooting an astronomical 62% from the field and 53.8% from downtown, all in 21 minutes a game.
#FIBAU19 MVP 🏆
— USABJNT (@usabjnt) July 11, 2021
Congratulations @ChetHolmgren 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZM1R4gGYJj
Purdue’s Jaden Ivey provided a much needed scoring punch in the USA victory, dropping 16 points, four boards and three steals, averaging 12.3 points and 1.6 steals per game.
Holmgren and Ivey represented the US in the tournament’s All-Star Five, rounded out by Webmanyama, Canada’s Zach Edey and Serbia’s Nikola Jovic.
The USA has now won back-to-back FIBA U19 championships, both under TCU head coach Jamie Dixon.
