NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) – Every year is an honor to be sat courtside at FIBA youth events and it got me wondering  about the best individual displays I've seen in the modern era.

 Here is my top 5:

1 Angela Salvadores (ESP) #FIBAU17 in 2014

This still remains one of my All-Time favorite women’s basketball memories - and not just at youth level. In fact, I even remember the walk back to the hotel in Pilsen, Czech Republic with veteran FIBA Coaching Instructor, Nelson Isley and LiveBasketball.tv commentator and Great Britain Performance Director, Mark Clark. The three of us spent the entire time talking passionately about what a special night we had just witnessed – all because of the sheer brilliance of Salvadores. To my mind, it remains the definitive individual performance in FIBA youth history. There may be an irony in that the fairytale didn't actually happen, since Spain only just failed to topple the reigning champions. But, that only stresses how brilliant, dazzling and breath-taking this display was from the guard. It had everything. USA could not stop her and she racked up 40 points. Unless I am mistaken, Salvadores became the first player from a losing team to take MVP at the event. It was so well deserved and I will remember this for the rest of my days. It was simply epic.

2 Cecilia Zandalasini (ITA) #FIBAU20Europe in 2016

 The comparisons between the stunning effort of Salvadores and the performance of Zandalasini in the title game at the FIBA U20 Women's European Championship are striking. She also single-handedly carried her team to within a whisker of the top podium step – but also came up short. Like Salvadores, her jaw-dropping effort also resulted in an MVP accolade. It was richly deserved. What made this 28-point, 10-rebound and 5 assist effort so special, is that Italy had looked like sinking without a trace. They were down by around 20 points early and all of a sudden, the one day Italian legend put her team onto her back. She erupted. Spain escaped with a 71-69 victory. This night also owed a lot to those watching in Matosinhos. It was a mind-blowing experience to see 2,000 people and essentially neutrals, all chanting 'MVP' every time she touched the ball in the latter stages – including most of the teams and players in the competition who had assembled to watch the Final. This was another genuinely great memory and thanks to Cecilia for ending her youth career in such style.

3 Maria Vadeeva/Raisa Musina (RUS) #FIBAU19 in 2017

 
Having had to somehow separate the Russian duo of Vadeeva and Raisa Musina in the MVP race last year at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Udine, I really find it hard do it again. On reflection, both were equally instrumental in bringing Russia a first title in decades and toppling the USA with some fantastic work. It was one of the most pulsating and engrossing finals in history, with the combined efforts of Vadeeva and Musina catapulting Russia to gold. The former, now enjoying life at the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA, took the MVP gong. making a massive 26 points and 18 points in the Final. Meanwhile Musina dropped a spectacular 33 points and added 11 rebounds and 7 assists.

4 A’Ja Wilson (USA) #FIBAU19 in 2015 

There is a nice link to Vadeeva when it comes to A’ja Wilson who of course was drafted in the number 1 spot earlier this year. Both are into their WNBA rookie seasons, with Wilson on fire and not only living up to, but also exceeding expectations so far. The other link is that Wilson was up against Vadeeva [who was playing young] in the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2015 Final. Everyone was anticipating Russia giving USA some real problems with their home court advantage and dynamic team. This is indeed what happened. Only USA had the classy Wilson as a difference-maker. This performance was so memorable and one of the best not because of the numbers, although 30 points and 8 boards was terrific, but because Wilson turned it up when it mattered most. She showed so much leadership and quality and the MVP award was a no-brainer.

5 Alina Iagupova (UKR) #FIBAU20Europe in 2012

I am not sure I have ever seen a more dominant performance at youth level than what Iagupova produced six years ago at the FIBA U20 Women's European Championship. Certainly, I have never seen a player produce so much offensive firepower during a tournament. Obviously since Ukraine didn't challenge for medals, it is easy to dismiss or discount the efforts of the swingman. However, for the handful of us sat inside the arena watching [prior to the live streaming of youth events] you recognized that you were watching a very special talent in action and consequently, I don't think Iagupova should be punished because it wasn’t a 'big game'. She averaged 27.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists across the competition which was simply extraordinary. In scoring she went 22,25,29,33,24,24,21,39 and 31. Yes, she didn't actually shoot a great percentage if the truth be told. But, if you were there, you will have appreciated she was incessantly double-teamed and frequently triple-teamed in fact. Her 39 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists against Sweden was brilliant – as was her triple-double of 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against Serbia. Take your pick. Also, she remains one of the top 5 players to have never played in the WNBA.

Paul Nilsen

FIBA

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