LAUSANNE (Switzerland) - What a difference a day makes: One day after failing to hold a big lead, Argentina grabbed their first win of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 - with former Argentina legend Luis Scola in the house.
Argentina never trailed and handed Serbia another surprise loss with a 71-66 win in Group A.
Tyler Kropp scored 23 points, Felipe Minzer added 14 points and Thiago Sucatzky chipped in 11 points and 9 assists for Argentina, who wasted a 16-point lead in their opening loss to New Zealand.
A dogfight, 40 minutes of pure battle
"It was a dogfight against those guys, 40 minutes of pure battle. Fortunately we were able to do it," said Minzer.
For the second straight game, the long-time Argentina national team star Scola was in attendance in Lausanne. The South Americans' opening game ended in a 77-72 loss to New Zealand after leading by 16 points in the first quarter.
Argentina have a 1-1 record going into the rest day with a showdown against Mali coming up on Day 3. Serbia have dropped two straight games after suffering a major upset to Mali 72-70.
FIBA