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July 2022
28/06/2022
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By the numbers: FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup history in review

 MALAGA (Spain) - The sixth edition of the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup is just around the corner. Here is a by-the-numbers look back at the previous five global showcase.

USA head coach Don Showalter

0 - Number of games United States have won in U17 World Cup history without Don Showalter as head coach. The mastermind of the USA cadet program stepped down after winning his fifth U17 title in 2018 - after a 37-0 record and five gold medals on top of five undefeated runs to the FIBA U16 Americas Championship crown. Now, it will be up to Sharman White and his coaching staff to fill Showalter's shoes. 

Ahmed Khalef

1 - Only one player has played in multiple U17 World Cups - and that is Egyptian big man Ahmed Khalaf, who led his team at the 2014 and 2016 editions. He averaged 8.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and a U17 World Cup record 4.9 blocks in 2014 and followed that with 17.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 4.4 blocks in 2016.

Michael Nieto

2 - There have been two sets of twins to compete thus far at the U17 World Cup. Matthew and Michael Nieto played for Philippines in 2014 while Erik and Ricky Waxlax lined up for Finland in 2016. Interestingly enough, the Waxlax twins were born on December 1 and 2, 1999 respectively.

 Andrew Wiggins

3 - Three players have gone on to be selected No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft after having played in the U17 World Cup - Canada's Anthony Bennett (2010 U17 World Cup/2013 NBA Draft), Andrew Wiggins of Canada (2010/2014) and Ben Simmons of Australia (2012/2016).

 Quinn Cook

4 - Number of NBA rings won by past U17 World Cup champions - two each by James McAdoo (2010 U17 WC/2015 and 2017 Golden State) and Quinn Cook (2010/2018 Golden State, 2020 LA Lakers). 

 
7 - The closest a team has ever come to beating United States in the competition - Australia losing "just" 99-92 in the 2014 Final.

 N'Faly Dante

11 - The number of players who appeared at the U17 World Cup who were two years younger than the competition's generation coming into the 2022 edition: N'Faly Dante, MLI, 2016WC,14y 8m 4d; Ladji Dembele, MLI, 2018, 14y 8m 14d; Jean Montero, DOM, 2018, 14y 11m 27d; Valdir Manuel, ANG, 2014, 15y 3m 3d; Adem Bona, TUR, 2018, 15y 3m 4d; Andrew Wiggins, CAN, 2010, 15y 4m 9d; Justin Jackson, CAN, 2012, 15y 4m 11d; Abdalla Almaazmi, UAE, 2014, 15y 4m 17d; Haoquin Sun, CHN, 2018, 15y 5m 2d; Ahmed Khalaf, EGY, 2014, 15y 5m 15d; Caleb Houstan, CAN, 2018, 15y 5m 21d. 

Aljosa Jankovic

15/18/10 - The statline for Aljosa Jankovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina who registered the only triple-double in U17 World Cup history - 15 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists - to go with 5 steals - in a Classification 9-12 game against Dominican Republic in 2016. 

 
22 - Australia's deficit against Spain in the 2014 Semi-Finals before coming back to win 80-74 in overtime in one of the greatest games in U17 World Cup history. 

30 - The first five U17 World Cups have seen 30 countries participate and that number now jumps to 32 as Lebanon and Slovenia will be making their debut at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022. 

 
32 - The record for most rebounds in a single game - held by Oumar Ballo of Mali in a triple-overtime game in 2018 against Dominican Republic. Ballo also scored 32 points in the game. 

 
37.2 - The percentage of Japan's total points that Rui Hachimura scored in the 2014 edition. He led the tournament with 22.6 points, including games in which he accounted for 52.9 percent, 58.9 percent and 65.8 percent of his team's output. 

 
41.97 - The average winning margin for the United States in their 37 games in U17 World Cup history. The Americans' biggest win was by 84 points (122-38 vs Japan in 2014) and they have 11 victories by 50 points of more. Their winning margin in the five Finals was 30.8 points - the biggest win being a 43-point blowout of France 95-52 in 2018. 

 
50 - The most points scored in a single game - the mark being held by Dzanan Musa of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who torched Chinese Taipei for the half-century a day after losing in the Round of 16.

FIBA