ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - Two days into the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 and six teams remain undefeated in their respective groups while the day's most defining moment was China shocking France and hosts Türkiye grabbed their first victory.
The 16 teams will take an off day from games on Monday and finish off the group play on Tuesday with two matchups of 2-0 sides: Lithuania and Spain in Group A, and Australia and Canada in Group D.
China shock France, throw Group B into mess
Raise your hand - come on, truthfully - if you had China taking down France 73-70 in Group B play in a comeback win that throws the group into a real mess.
France pulled away in the second quarter and seemed destined for the victory as they led 38-25. China got back into the game and eventually led 45-44. France never let the Asians pull away and it was tight the rest of the way. The game was decided on Boyuan Zhang's floating layup wtih 9.2 seconds left - what turned out to be the final score.
Zhang top-scored for China with 18 points, Yuezhou Li picked up 14 points and star center Sinan Huan chipped in 12 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. France wasted an inspiring performance by Hugo Yimga with 29 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
I'm really proud of what the kids showed!
"The first game we didn’t show anything of what we prepared for this World Cup. What we were missing we showed today. We were a team, with a big T, in all situations - offense and defense. This was a team victory. It is not often that China beats a powerhouse like France and I am really proud of what the kids showed on the court today", China's assistant coach Branko Maksimovic.
Actually, China improved to 3-0 all-time at the FIBA U17 World Cup against France with previous wins in 2012 and 2014.
Group B is topped by USA with a 2-0 record while China and Guinea are 1-1 and France bring up the rear with a 0-2 mark. The final group games have China taking on USA and Guinea squaring off against France.
Australia lock down in fourth quarter
Australia made sure things would not get tense in the end as the Crocs rallied to beat Germany 74-60 for a perfect 2-0 record in Group D.
A day after nearly wasting a 23-point lead before holding on 85-82 against Egypt, Australia fell behind by 12 points in the third quarter after having scored just 6 points in the second period. But the Crocs defense stood strong with a 26-11 final frame.
Harrison Beauchamp scored 16 points, Indy Cotton had 12 and Mading Kuany was all over the place in contributing 7 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Julis Baumer and Jervis Scheffs both had 12 points for Germany, who dropped to 0-2.
"The victory was very good. We had a slow start but then we switched on them on defense and we got together as a team. Us being great teammates won the game - looking after one another," said Kuany.
Canada need comeback to survive Egypt scare
Canada nearly saw themselves upset in Group D but the North Americans fought back by 15 points down to grab a 72-63 win against Egypt for a perfect 2-0 mark.
Canada allowed just 25 points in the second half and Miles Sadler scored the final seven points of the game - including a dagger three-pointer for a 70-63 cushion with 75 seconds to play.
Sadler finished with 30 points to go with 7 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals and Maxime Meyer tallied 12 points. Mohamed Wael Shahin paced Egypt with 19 points.
"Our team came out and showed why we deserve to be here. We had a rough first half but we stood together in the second half. Everyone started playing hard and that's what won us the game today," said Sadler.
New Zealand down Argentina for first win over Americas side
Supremacy in Group C belongs to New Zealand after capturing an 89-81 victory over Argentina for a 2-0 record - a win that is also the Oceanians' first ever against an Americas side.
The game was tight throughout and Argentina led 77-72. The duo of Oscar Goodman and Troy Plumtree sparked a 17-4 close to the game. Plumtree collected 22 points and 11 rebounds and Goodman ended with 19 points. Tyler Kropp scoring 25 points and Felipe Minzer tallying 24 points were not enough for Argentina, who now have a 1-1 mark.
New Zealand had never beaten Argentina in youth events in four games and they were 0-10 all time in facing Americas nations.
Türkiye give home fans first taste of victory
Hosts Türkiye bounced back from their opening loss to New Zealand in fine fashion with a hard-fought 79-74 win over Italy for their first win in Group C.
The home side dropped their first game by 20 points and did a strong job against Italy, fighting back from a 16-point deficit and Kaan Onat secured the win with his layup with 14 seconds remaining.
Onat ended the game with 24 points and Rrezon Elezay collected 18 points and 7 rebounds. Türkiye now have a 1-1 record and Italy fell to 0-2 despite Diego Garavaglia pouring in 18 points.
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