MANILA – USA defeated Germany, 109-76, on Sunday to capture the FIBA U19 World Cup 2025 at the Lausanne Arena in Switzerland.
Morez Johnson Jr. scored 15 points as the Americans, who placed fourth in the 2023 edition, held a 22-2 run early in the second half to dominate the game.
AJ Dybantsa contributed 11 points, six rebounds, and two assists. He bagged the Most Valuable Player award, averaging 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game to lead USA to a record ninth junior world title.
Germany, which made it to the final for the first time, was paced by Hannes Steinbach with 19 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block. Christian Anderson chipped in 18 points, nine assists, five rebounds, and four steals.
In the battle for third place, Zak Smrekar had 20 points, five rebounds, and three assists in Slovenia's 91-87 win over New Zealand.
Vit Hrabar also scored 20 points and Urban Kroflic made 19 points, 16 rebounds, and four assists for the Slovenians, who reached their first podium in a world event.
Canada finished fourth, followed by Australia, Israel, Switzerland, Serbia, France, Mali, Argentina, China, Cameroon, Dominican Republic, and Jordan.
Dybantsa was joined in the SwissBorg All-Star Five by teammate Mikel Brown Jr, Steibach, Anderson, and Smrekar.
Steinbach averaged 17.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game, while Anderson finished with 17.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. Smrek averaged 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game.
Meanwhile, Jordan Charles (Canada), Tama Isaac (New Zealand), Dayan Nessah (Switzerland), Roman Siulepa (Australia) and Tyler Kropp (Argentina) were named for the All-Second Team. Danijel Radosavljevic (Slovenia) took the Best Coach honor while Jordan Smith Jr. (USA) was chosen as Best Defensive Player. (PNA)