ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - What a first two days of games at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2026. The competition takes a break on Monday to give everyone a chance to catch their breath. Group play will then finish off a day later. What better time to review what has happened and break it down with 5 ups and 5 downs.
Let's start with the bad first to finish on the positive side.
Down #1
Cameroon knew things would not be easy at their first FIBA U17 World Cup, but the Lions have had no roar thus far. They have averaged 39.5 points while shooting 30.4% from the field and committing 22.5 turnovers a contest.
Going into their final group stage game against Canada, Cameroon are all but guaranteed last place in Group B - even in a three-way tie - which would mean a Round of 16 date with USA.
Down #2
Slovenia fans probably had decent expectations when they were thinking about this event, knowing they had the likes of Lun Jarc, Jakob Siftar, Bine Pregl and Martin Trsan.
A deep lacking depth ran into even more problems when their starting backcourt from last summer of Pregl and Trsan were not available for Istanbul. And the Balkan nation is having their issues.
Down #3
Like Cameroon, Venezuela are also making their FIBA U17 World Cup debut. The South Americans have not had it easy. They missed a chance to make history straight away by facing fellow newcomer Côte d'Ivoire in the opening game.
Venezuela ended up coming back late and challenging the Africans but could not get all the way back and then were blown out by Serbia in the second game. Venezuela still have shown solid flashes with their young talent.
Down #4
New Zealand are 0-2 after two days but they really should have been 1-1 - if not 2-0 - in Group C. The Kiwis gave up a 25-point third quarter lead to Türkiye and then also gave up a 13-point advantage to Puerto Rico.
Jayden Cecil has been a great addition to the youth national team alongside Tawhiri Cate, but there needs to be more help from the others. And unless they beat Slovenia in the final group stage game, New Zealand could be staring at a matchup with Australia in the Round of 16.
Down #5
Some people might have New Zealand and Japan flipped in this situation but Japan were in the ultra-competitive Group A with Italy, USA and France. The Asians seemed destined for a 0-3 but they at least gave Italy a tough fight for the first quarter.
Jack Shiratani and Kuon Sato have been the two really productive players for Japan, but they need more if the team can realistically target a win going forward.
Up #5
A decade after the first - and only - triple-double in FIBA U17 World Cup history, we are still waiting. We have had some real close calls.
Omer Kutluay of Türkiye has had games of 39-7-9 and 26-9-10 as while Jokubas Kukta from Lithuania had 29-8-10.
Tawhiri Cate of New Zealand collected 14-12-9 and 9-11-8; and Australian Luke Paul tallied 18-9-7.
Will Aljosa Jankovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina get company as the player with the only triple-double in FIBA U17 World Cup history: 15-18-10 in 2016?
Up #4
China came to Istanbul with eight players born in 2010 with the idea of having them possibly play in two FIBA U19 Basketball World Cups. It's fair to say the generation has passed the test with a 1-1 record after beating Cameroon and then only falling apart late against Canada.
Zhang Yizhaojie has shined in his all-around game while Zhang Yuchen has averaged 5 three-pointers per game as well as 5.5 assists to 2.0 turnovers; and Zhao Boxin is collecting 8pt 8rb 7bl per game.
Up #3
China collapsing versus Canada and Côte d'Ivoire giving Australia all they could all the way until the end earns the Africans the higher spot. The U16 African champs from last summer made history to start the event by beating Venezuela for their first win in their first ever game.
The country has some interesting talent - Jean-Philippe Oka, Barakel Koffi and Raphael Ouedraogo among others - and they seem committed to youth development as Côte d'Ivoire will be hosting the FIBA U18 AfroBasket 2026.
Up #2
Even Puerto Rico's coaching staff said before the event their team would be DJ Gaines, more DJ Gaines and more DJ Gaines. They were dead on as the guard has averaged 31.0 points while Jeremy Willmore has 12.5 ppg and Eduyn Albino is picking up 10.5 ppg.
Gaines is also contributing 4.0 assists and 6.5 steals while the rest of the team is playing with their usual dog mentality - with loads of energy, grit and determination. Until now, it has worked to the tune of a 2-0 record and secured a top-two spot in Group C.
Up #1
Some might be wondering where are teams like USA, Australia, France and Serbia in this list, but their campaigns have gone pretty much how they expected. For the top spot though, we are going with Türkiye - and not necessarily because they are 2-0 in Group C.
The hosts used some fantastic crowd support on Day One to roar back from 25 points down in the third quarter to beat New Zealand in double-overtime. Türkiye then eased past Slovenia as their star duo of Omer Kutluay and Darius Karutasu shined in front of most of the Turkish senior national team - including stars like Alperen Sengun and Cedi Osman.
Kutluay, Karutasu and co. have a great feeling going into the final group stage game against Puerto Rico and would with a win most likely take on Venezuela in the Round of 16.
FIBA