DEBRECEN (Hungary) -The group stage of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2023 nearly ended with two major upsets but Serbia and Brazil both avoided slip-ups just ahead of the Round of 16 with Serbia being one of four teams who are still undefeated.

Serbia need big spurt to fight off Japan

Serbia showed their character when it mattered most by mounting a massive run to come back and defeat Japan 76-65 and finish Group C undefeated at 3-0. Japan put together a 26-7 start to the third quarter and built a 59-49 lead. But Serbia punched back with a 21-0 run to decide the game.

Yuto Kawashima fouled out and could not help beat Serbia and Lazar Djokovic

Ilija Milijasevic collected 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals and Lazar Djokovic scored 17 points in the win. Akira Jacobs hit for 16 points in the loss, dropping Japan to 1-2.  

"This game was for first place in our group. We started a bit stressed and we only played okay in the first half. In the third quarter they hit some three-pointers and took a 10-point lead, but just like against Brazil our character won the game. The team played with a lot of energy and positivity. That was the most important thing in today's win," Milijasevic said.  

Brazil finish strong against upset-minded Egypt

Brazil were essentially locked up second place in Group C but they nearly suffered a second straight loss until a late run meant a 73-67 win for a 2-1 mark while Egypt fell to 0-3.  Brazil trailed by 3 points with just over 2 minutes to play, but Reynan Santos and Vitor Da Silva carried the South Americans to an 11-2 finish to the game.

Both Santos and Da Silva players had 11 points for Brazil and Leandro Cardoso scored 12 points. Ibrahim Zahran picked up 16 points in the loss.

France bounce back, second half carries them past Canada

France bounced back in strong fashion following a loss to Spain to beat Canada 80-68 and grab second place in Group A with a 2-1 record. France, who lost 88-69 to Spain on Day 2, used a 24-3 second half run to blow the game open.

Melvin Ajinca scored 23 points to pace the French with Zacharie Perrin contributing 15 points and 15 rebounds. Canada, who committed 20 turnovers, dropped to 1-2 for third place in the group despite Xaivian Lee scoring 15 points.

"We had a pretty difficult first half. We just tried to play good defense in the second half and get all the rebounds. The rebounding was the key. We did an amazing job in the second half and I am really proud of this team," said Perrin.

Slovenia avoid let-down against Madagascar

Slovenia avoided a near collapse against Madagascar but managed to fend off the Africans 74-71 to take second place in Group B. Slovenia led by as many as 15 points in the second half but surrendered a 10-point fourth  quarter lead and needed to come back for the win and a 2-1 record. Madagascar finished in third place in the group at 1-2.

Jan Vide scored 25 points and Jan Zemljic added 15 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists for the Europeans. Fabrizio Heritiana paced Madagascar with 18 points.

"Before we came to the tournament we knew it was important to get into the second spot in the group. We have achieved that. Now we just need to stay focused," said Vide. "It happened to us again. We had a 10 point lead in the last quarter and then we went down first 3-4 minutes in the same way against USA. We just need to show a little more focus in the fourth quarter." 

Top Performers: Who did it best on Day 3?

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Zacharie Perrin of France and Michael Nwoko of Canada went back and forth all game

Other results:

- Spain (3-0 ) struggled to put away China and finally prevailed 83-74 in Group A. There were 16 lead changes and Spain were only up 4 points with 110 seconds to play. Izan Almansa scored 24 points for Spain. Wang Junjie had 21 points for China (0-3) .

- USA (3-0) were not challenged and finished Group B with a 122-70 blowout of Lebanon (0-3). The Americans led 39-20 after 10 minutes and cruised the rest of the way. Mark Armstrong scored 17 points to pace six Americans in double figures.

- Turkey (3-0) remained undefeated by easing past hosts Hungary (2-1) 90-64 for first place in Group  D. Hamza Mestoglu led the Turks with 18 points.

- Argentina (1-2) avoided last place in Group D as they defeated Korea 88-76. Lee Aaliya had 25 points and 11 rebounds - 10 of Argentina's 21 offensive boards - while Yu Kichan scored 21 points for Korea (0-3).

Round of 16 matchups

Spain vs Lebanon
Canada vs Slovenia
France vs Madagascar
China vs USA
Brazil vs Argentina
Japan vs Hungary
Serbia vs Korea
Egypt vs Turkey

FIBA