KAUNAS (2012 FIBA U17 World Championship) – Canada finished their 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship in fifth place by beating Argentina while China took seventh place with a win over Czech Republic.

Kevin Zabo collected 26 points and 7 assists to lead Canada to an 84-79 victory over Argentina with Patrick Steeves adding 14 points and Marial Shayok and Tanveer Bhullar both scoring 12 points.

Canada, who came in third at the inaugural FIBA U17 World Championship in 2010, lost to the United States in the Quarter-Finals and then beat China to reach the fifth-place game.

Argentina, who finished ninth in Hamburg two years ago, lost despite 26 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists by Gabriel Deck with Alvaro Merlo chipping in 16 points and 7 assists.

China matched their seventh-place finish from 2010 with a 77-70 victory over Czech Republic with Zhou Qi leading the way with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Wang Zheng Bo scored 16 points and Zhao Ji Wei collected 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.

The Czechs, who did not play at the 2010 U17s Worlds, had Adam Pechacek score 16 points off the bench while Radovan Kouril had 13 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds.

FIBA