U19 WC 2021: USA defend title despite Wembanyama's heroics

MIES (Switzerland) -The United States climbed to the top of the podium at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2021 - repeating their title from 2019 - but the tournament in Latvia will forever be remembered as the coming-out party for France superstar prospect Victor Wembanyama.

USA claimed their eighth U19 World Cup crown in 15 editions as they defeated Wembanyama and France 83-81 in a thrilling Final. Canada knocked off Serbia 101-92 to grab third place.

The best team: USA

The 2021 FBA U19 World Cup was the first FIBA youth competition held since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. The tournament featured 16 teams, including hosts Latvia, who were welcoming the world to northern Europe for the second time after 2011. The games were played in Daugavpils and Riga from July 3-11.

Due to the pandemic, the FIBA U18 AfroBasket 2020 was the only qualifying tournament that was played with the other teams selected according to FIBA World Rankings, presented by Nike for Youth Men.

France, Lithuania, Serbia, Spain, and Türkiye were the top five ranked European teams; Argentina, Canada, Puerto Rico, and USA were the top four from the Americas; Australia, Iran, Japan and Korea were chosen from Asia - with Iran replacing China, who withdrew before the competition; along with the two qualifiers from Africa - Mali and Senegal.

The teams were drawn into four groups of four with a single round-robin style competition. All of the teams advanced to the Knockout Phase, starting with the Round of 16. Canada, Serbia, and USA went undefeated in group play while France took first place in Group C atop a three-way tie at 2-1 with Spain and Argentina. The biggest highlight of the first phase was Spain coming back from a 16-2 deficit to knock off France 60-59 in overtime.

In the Round of 16, Senegal upset the hosts Latvia and Argentina surprised Turkey at the buzzer while Serbia struggled with an 89-86 win over Japan. The Quarter-Finals saw France needing overtime to beat Lithuania; Canada fending off Spain; and Serbia fighting past Argentina while USA brushed aside Senegal.

USA booked their ticket to the Final thanks to a 17-0 run over 4 minutes in the fourth quarter for a 92-86 win over Canada in a repeat of the 2017 Semi-Finals, which Canada famously won thanks to an otherworldly 38-point performance from RJ Barrett. France for their part advanced to their first Final as they beat Serbia 75-69.

Canada claimed their second podium finish - following the 2017 title-winning run - as they downed Serbia 101-92 in the Third Place Game. And in the Final, Kenny Lofton and Jaden Ivey both scored 16 points to lead USA to an 83-81 win over France, who got 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 blocks from Victor Wembanyama before he fouled out.  

The best player: Chet Holmgren - MVP

Chet Holmgren came into 2021 U19 World Cup as the projected No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and the biggest star on the USA team. And the big man lived up to the hype, averaging 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.7 blocks while hitting 62.0% from the field including 53.8% on three-pointers - in just 21 minutes a game.

Holgrem scored at least 10 points in every game and registered a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds in just 18 minutes against Korea. One of his best games came in the Semi-Finals with 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 blocks against Canada. In the Final, he collected 10 points, 2 rebounds, and 5 assists - five of his points coming in the decisive 11-0 run in the fourth quarter.

Holmgren was joined on the All-Star Five by teammate Jaden Ivey along with France star prospect Victor Wembanyama, Zach Edey of third placed finishers Canada and Serbia's Nikola Jovic. 

The best game: The Final - USA down France in thriller

The Final really lived up to its billing of the best two teams. USA had already long established themselves as regulars in the title game - the 11th time they were playing for the crown. But France had finally broken through to reach their first Final after taking third place in 2007 and 2019.

In the Final, Chet Holmgren stepped up with 5 points as the Americans built an early 12-4 lead. France answered with two three-pointers to get within 17-16 and trailed 21-19 after 10 minutes. Victor Wembanyama began to take over at both ends with 6 points and 3 blocks in a 13-4 spurt to put France ahead 34-28. He added a three-point play and triple and France went into the break up 42-37.

After USA tied the game 50-50, France punched back with the next eight points only to see the Americans even it again 59-59 with France leading 64-59 heading into the final 10 minutes. France had a 68-64 advantage early in the fourth quarter when USA took reins of the game.

First off, Holmgren drew the third and fourth fouls on Wembanyama within 29 seconds, sending the French star to the bench with 7:23 minutes to play. Holmgren would end up scoring 5 points and Jaden Ivey had two transition scores in an 11-0 surge to give USA the lead 75-68. 

France hit two three-pointers to try and stay within touching distance but Wembanyama came back on and fouled out just 70 seconds later with 2:42 minutes remaining and his team down 79-74 after Kenny Lofton's free throws. And a Michael Miles steal and dunk made it 83-76 with 103 seconds left.

Louis Lesmond gave France hope with a long jumper and a very long three-pointer as France trailed just 83-81 with 28 seconds on the clock. USA would not give France the chance to tie or win the game as Lofton and Kennedy Chandler both grabbed offensive rebounds in the waning seconds.  

USA won their eighth U19 World Cup title and fourth in the last five editions. France meanwhile finished on the podium in back-to-back U19 World Cups after third place in 2019, which matched their only other medal from 2007.

The best fans: Spectators allowed to watch games 

The 2021 U19 World Cup took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, but fans in Latvia were allowed to watch the games - the first FIBA youth tournament since the global pandemic began. FIBA, the Latvian Basketball Association and local organizers collaborated for more than six months on a plan to have spectators in the arenas.

The Latvians implemented the 'FIBA Return to Basketball Covid-19 Protocol for FIBA Official National Team and Club Competition', which was developed by the FIBA Medical Advisory Group in conjunction with the World Health Organization.

All spectators were required to present a valid Covid-19 certificate, showing that 14 days had passed since the person's second vaccination or they had had a positive Covid-19 test in the last 180 days. FIBA regulations also required a face mask must be used at all times while in the arena.

The best story: 17-year-old Wembanyama helps France to first Final

Victor Wembanyama came into the U19 World Cup already a name on scouts' radars. But the French prospect came out of the tournament as an emerging star. He was dominant throughout with 14.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 5.7 blocks. All that despite being two years younger than the rest of the competition.

There were long stretches of absolute brilliance as he collected 22 points, 10 rebounds and 8 blocks against Spain. Wembanyama was somewhat physically overmatched against Mali in the Round of 16 with just 7 points and 4 rebounds - though he still swatted 4 shots.

Wembanyama shined again in the Quarter-Finals versus Lithuania with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 8 blocks. His Semi-Finals contribution was very limited due to foul trouble, picking up just 1 point, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks in 9 minutes.

But Wembanyama saved the best for the biggest moment. He scored 22 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 8 shots in 27 minutes against USA in the Final before fouling out with 2:42 minutes to play. Wembanyama had shown the Americans - and the rest of the world - just a glimpse of what he would become.  

The best history: Senegal make more magic for African basketball

The 2021 U19 World Cup saw more history for African basketball as Senegal reached the Quarter-Finals for the first time. Senegal were appearing in the event for the third time after taking 16th place in 2013 and 15th in 2019 - both times capturing one victory in the 16-team competition.

Senegal beat Japan in their first game in Latvia for the country's first win in the Group Phase. The Africans lost to Lithuania and Canada and then faced hosts Latvia in the Round of 16. Senegal's star Ibou Dianko Badji left the team to take part in an NBA Draft workout in the United States, but his teammates rallied together for a 57-44 victory. Babacar Sane had 17 points and Baye Ndongo collected 12 points and 11 rebounds in the historic triumph, which was followed by an 88-58 defeat by the United States in the Quarter-Finals.

Senegal would eventually beat Argentina to take seventh place - the second-best showing for an African team in U19 World Cup history. The best-ever result came in 2019 when Mali streaked all the way to the Final, where they lost to USA for the greatest performance by an African team at a global basketball competition. 

The best performance: Jun Seok Yeo

The leading scorer of the tournament was Korean star Jun Seok Yeo, who was clearly the team's best player and was a force to be reckoned with for every opponent.  And he showed the world why he is already considered one of Korea's next top stars.

Yeo came into the tournament having just helped Korea's senior national team qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup 2021. He also played for Korea at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2020 in Lithuania just days before the U19 World Cup started. 

Playing for Korea with his age group for the first time on the international stage, Yeo had 12 points and 8 rebounds against France in the opener. He followed that with double-doubles against Argentina (27/13) and Spain (26/12) before scoring 21 points against USA in a Round of 16 loss.

Yeo finished the tournament with three more double-doubles - 26 points and 13 rebounds against Latvia and 31 points and 13 rebounds versus Puerto Rico before netting a tournament-high 36 points to go with 12 rebounds against Japan. For the competition, Yeo averaged 25.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.4 blocks.  

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