LAUSANNE (Switzerland) - Group Play at the FIBA U19 Basketbal World Cup 2025 ended with Day 3 highlighted by a record shooting night by United States while Germany and Israel stayed undefeated; Switzerland made it back-to-back victories and Serbia finally grabbed their first win.
USA shoot record-tying 19 triples
USA remained perfect in the competition by rolling to a 129-70 win over Cameroon thanks to a 44-13 third quarter as well as blistering outside shooting. Mikel Brown and Caleb Holt both hit five of USA's 19 three-pointers, which equaled the previous FIBA U19 World Cup record set by China against Croatia in 2013.
"It's kind of cool to tie another record. It's a boost for our confidence going into the next game. We have said this from the beginning: We're gonna get better in every single game and I think that’s what is happening," said Brown, who collected 24 points and 8 assists.
Germany set road to avoid USA until Final
The two biggest favorites coming into the tournament cannot face off until the Final as Germany beat Canada 90-66 to take top honors in Group B. All five German starters scored in double figures against a Canada team that had been undefeated after two games.
"We came out today extra strong, executing extra well as a team offensively. We could have played a little better defensively, but we pulled out the win," said Christian Anderson, who led Germany with 29 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
Israel fend of Dominicans
First place in Group C went to Israel with a 3-0 record after fighting past Dominican Republic 80-76. Rany Belaga flirted with a triple-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists while Ariel Sela collected 12 points, 17 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Dominicans got 25 points from Fernando De Los Santos and Lucas Morillo had 17 points and 11 rebounds but they were not enough as the team struggled to make just 15 of 38 free throws (40 percent).
Swiss make it two straight
The home fans in Lausanne had good reason to celebrate after Switzerland won back-to-back games by beating Jordan 91-47 in Group C. The Swiss opened the game with a 22-2 lead and never looked back.
Going from never playing in Division A of a FIBA Youth EuroBasket to two wins in the group stage of the FIBA U19 World Cup has been a great run already for Switzerland.
"It feels great. The first loss (versus Israel) was kind of a gauge to see our level compared to the competition. The second game we killed it and today we did what we know how to do," said Austin Ouko, who scored 18 points to lead all scorers for Switzerland.
Serbia finally get first W
Serbia were already guaranteed last place in Group B coming into the game against New Zealand but the Europeans made sure they went into the Round of 16 on a positive note. Savo Drezgic collected 24 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in a 103-97 win for the Serbs, who had lost their first two games to Mali and Argentina.
"We knew that this game was really important for us, our confidence and energy. But we never stopped believing in ourselves after the first two games. We know how we can play and we showed that today," Drezgic said.
Other Results
- The battle for second place in Group D went to Australia, who beat France 71-63 to a 2-1 mark. Australia committed 20 turnovers but made up for them with a 51-31 rebound advantage, including 18 offensive boards. Jacob Furphy and Roman Siulepa both scored 19 points for the winners. - Slovenia picked up their first win with a comfortable 99-82 victory over winless China. Leon Ivicic hit 5 three-pointers in scoring 19 points for the winners. - Argentina locked up second place in Group A with a 75-66 triumph over Mali. Tyler Kropp moved his streak of 20+ games to three with 24 points and 9 rebounds while Fidel Cifuentes added 18 points.
FIBA