GER - USA and Poland set to go for gold

HAMBURG (2010 FIBA U17 World Championship) - In the first semi-final between Canada and the USA, the group B runner-up came back twice from double-digit deficits, but fell late 83-103 to their continental rivals.

Canada fell behind by 20 points at the beginning of the second quarter 17-37, but Kevin Pangos (17 points) would not accept to go down without a fight. The point guard gathered his troops, re-arranged them and stroke back – thunderous. Sporting good transition defense Canada cut the deficit to a 42-48 halftime score. Bradley Beal (30 points, 15 rebounds, 5 steals) drove his team for a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 42-55.

Pangos hit two consecutive shots from long range. With defense focussing on Pangos, it was 15-year-old Andrew Wiggins, who skyed in for a monster jam and another layer to make this a close one (58-62, 27min). After a U.S. timeout Gilchrist and co had their game faces on, but it took them until the last stanza, before finally breaking Canada's will.

In the second semi-final Poland beat Lithuania 75-65 in a stunning, thrilling, entertaining - even for spectators - exhausting campaign. After hitting consecutive shots before half-time, Poland was able to carry its momentum over to the third.

Not just offensively, the team around Mateusz Ponitka (22 points) set the tone by working relentlessly on defense. Were it not for Mantas Mockevicius (24 points), Lithuania would not have been able to rally from behind late in the last period (63-65, 37min).

Karnowski saw Tomasz Gielo running the lane for a perfect pass to make it 65-71 with 1:31 to go. The following possession Ponitka drew an offensive foul, but committed one on his own at the other end. Lithuania needed numerous triples, but the shots from long range did not fall in. Poland connected for 4-of-6 from the foul line, as time expired.

The final score said 68-66 in Australia's favor over China. Yes, that's right, with the exact same score the FIBA Oceania Champ got its berth for the quarter-finals three days ago, giving the hosts a shot at seventh place.

After a 67-51 win, Serbia is set to play for fifth place against Australia, Germany will face China in the game for seventh place.

Argentina comes in ninth, Egypt earns elenth place with first win

Argentina and Spain, two entertaining teams whose abitions will have been much higher than the ninth place they fought for, provided some excellent entertainment during the late-morning game, with the South Americans coming out on top.

Playing a game for eleventh place in the U17 World Championship does not mean the teams involved don't give it a hundred percent. Of course they do, because nobody wants to come in last. In a hard fought battle that went right to the end, Egypt erned its first win and with it eleventh place.

FIBA / JB