LAUSANNE (Switzerland) - United States and Germany will battle it out for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 trophy after both teams won their Semi-Finals showdowns on a day which also saw China point guard Yi Yang and Cameroon make history.
USA set Semi-Final record in blowout
United States made sure they would not be tripped up just before the Final as they rolled past New Zealand to book their ticket to the title bout. USA set a new record for most points in a Semi-Finals game with a 120-64 victory.
Caleb Holt paced six USA players in double figures with 20 points and Mikel Brown tallied 11 points and 6 assists.
Germany punch Final ticket with another win over Slovenia
Germany locked up their first-ever FIBA U19 World Cup podium finish with an 84-72 victory over Slovenia to set up a date with USA in the Final. Christian Anderson scored 27 points as all five Germany starters scored in double figures.
Germany were the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024 champions and beat Slovenia in the Semi-Finals en route to that crown. And they knocked off the Balkan nation in the opening game of their tournament in Lausanne.
Canada bounce back, Swiss disappointment
In a battle of teams disappointed about losses in the Quarter-Finals, Canada rolled past hosts Switzerland 93-61. Canada, who lost a real battle against USA, got 14 points from Spencer Aherns and three teammates had 13 points. Canada will face Australia for fifth place.
The Australians lost a double-digit lead but then pushed back ahead and beat Israel 78-72. Roman Siulepa was too much to handle with 24 points.
Serbia rally for revenge
Serbia will play for ninth place after a major comeback in a 76-73 win over Argentina. The Europeans trailed by 22 points but raced back into the game to avenge their loss to Argentina in the group phase. Andrej Kostic drained 6 three-pointers in scoring a team high 25 points in the victory.
Serbia's opponent will be France after the French took care of business with a 76-71 win over Mali. Timeo Pons led the way with 15 points. Argentina and Mali will play for 11th place.
Cameroon finally celebrate
There was major celebrations in Classification 13-16 action as Cameroon defeated Dominican Republic 86-84 to finally collect their first-ever FIBA U19 World Cup win. The tournament debutants had a number of tough losses along the way and were trailing by 18 points before roaring back into the game and won the game on a Hermann Bel putback with 6 seconds to go.
Noe Bom scored 19 points and Wilf Kingue, Franck Belibi and Ronny Ewanke all had 18 points for the winners, who will face China for 13th place.
Yi Yang sets assists record in China win
China for their part saw Yi Yang set a new FIBA U19 World Cup record with 17 assists in a 97-78 victory over fellow Asian side Jordan. Boyuan Zhang scored 22 points and Sinan Huan tallied 16 points, 4 rebounds and 5 blocks.
Schedule for Sunday - July 6
Final USA v Germany
Third-Place Game New Zealand v Slovenia
Classification 5-6 Canada v Australia
Classification 7-8 Switzerland v Israel
Classification 9-10 France v Serbia
Classification 11-12 Mali v Argentina
Classification 13-14 China v Cameroon
Classification 15-16 Jordan v Dominican Republic
FIBA