The best of FIBA U17 WC 2022: 6th title for USA, Cooper Flagg, Almansa and Zikarsky are future stars

Admin June 7, 2024

MIES (Switzerland) – The FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022 saw five-time undefeated champions United States given a tough fight in the Final by hosts Spain, but in the end the Americans made it six for six titles – once again without a loss.

Spain made history by finally breaking through and reaching the podium to take second place after finishing fourth in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Fellow Europeans France followed up their second place showing from 2018 with a third place finish.

Other highlights included Slovenia finishing seventh in their U17 World Cup debut while Cooper Flagg shined as one of the next superstars in world basketball. And Rocco Zikarsky gave Australia fans hope for the future as a to-be Boomer for many years.

The best team: USA

Rank	Team	W-L
1.	USA	7-0
2.	Spain	5-2
3.	France	6-1
4.	Lithuania	5-2
5.	Serbia	5-2
6.	Australia	5-2
7.	Slovenia	4-3
8.	Poland	3-4
9.	Canada	4-3
10.	Egypt	2-5
11.	Argentina	3-4
12.	New Zealand	1-6
13.	Dominican Republic	3-4
14.	Japan	1-6
15.	Mali	2-5
16.	Lebanon	0-7

As every previous U17 World Cup, USA cruised throughout with a 76-point win over Lebanon to start and the Americans never really slowed down. They beat Serbia by 26 points in the Quarter-Finals and then Lithuania by 27 points in the Semi-Finals. A tight 12-point win over Spain improved Americans’ all-time record in the competition to 44-0.

The best video: re-watch the Final between USA and Spain

At stake in the Final was USA’s 43-0 all-time record in the event and five straight titles. Spain not only had already made history by reaching their first Final but they also had the home support of nearly 7,000 spectators at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena in Malaga.

Armed with a star trio of Izan Almansa, Aday Mara and Hugo Gonzalez, Spain were up to the challenge and held a seven-point lead after 10 minutes. They increased the advantage to eight points in the second quarter and went into intermission up 38-33.

Spain still led 47-40 with 7 minutes left in the third quarter when USA’s defensive pressure started forcing turnovers and resulted in a 22-4 run to lead 62-51 after three quarters.

The Spanish refused to go away and were only down 71-63 with 4:52 minutes to go. But the Americans limited the hosts to just two points over the next 4 minutes to lead 77-65 with less than a minute to go.

Jeremy Fears had 17 points and 6 assists, Cooper Flagg collected 10 points, 17 rebounds, 8 steals and 4 blocks, and David Castillo added 12 points in a 79-67 victory. And the USA’s sixth mission of perfection was complete. But Spain still had plenty to be proud of as Mara and Gonzalez both had 16 points and Almansa tallied 9 points and 15 rebounds.

The best player: Izan Almansa MVP

For the first time, the Most Valuable Player did not go to a player from the winning team but instead was given to Spain’s Izan Almansa, who guided the hosts to second place. Almansa was second on Spain in scoring with 12.1 points, led the country in rebounds – and was second in the competition – with 11.9 boards, and ranked third overall with an efficiency of 20.1. He chipped in 1.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.6 blocks.

Almansa registered three double-doubles, including picking up 15 points and 16 rebounds in 17 minutes against Japan and 10 points and 14 rebounds in the Semi-Finals win over France. He collected 9 points and 15 points in the Final against the USA. But Almanza’s best game was probably against Australia in the Quarter-Finals when he tallied 13 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks – only the seventh time in U17 World Cup history that a player had seven blocks in a game.

From left to right – Lucas Langarita (ESP), Izan Almansa (ESP), Ilane Fibleuil (FRA), Cooper Flagg (USA), Koa Peat (USA)

Almansa was joined on the All-Tournament team by the USA duo Cooper Flagg and Koa Peat, Spain teammate Lucas Langarita and Ilane Fibleuil from third-placed finishers France.

The best game: Spain vs Australia – Quarter-Finals

Spain faced a major challenge but managed to rally from 10 points down and oust Australia 70-68 to reach the Semi-Finals and stay alive for their first-ever U17 World Cup medal. Conrad Martinez split two free throws with 4.4 seconds left to lock up the win and a date with France. Lucas Langarita poured in a game-high 23 points while Izan Almansa collected 13 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks. Joshua Dent paced Australia with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in the loss.

Neither team could really pull away in the first half and it was Australia who managed the first double-digit lead at 51-41 with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. Spain evened the game 60-60 and it was tight the rest of the way. Martinez made two free throws with 38 seconds remaining to make it 69-66 but missed two with 18 seconds left. He would redeem himself in the end and Spain survive.

The best performance: Cooper Flagg – USA vs Spain

Perhaps the best description of Cooper Flagg is a Swiss Army knife. The USA forward shined all tournament with his wide-ranging skill set and multiple ways to beat a team. Flagg’s versatiliy was on display in the Americans’ victory over Spain in the Final as he collected 10 points, 17 rebounds, 8 steals and 4 blocks for an Efficiency rating of 30. Whenever USA needed a big play – at either end of the court – Flagg seemed to be there to provide it.

Spain finally break through for first medal

Spain have long been one of the greatest nations in youth basketball. But the country had never claimed a medal at the U17 World Cup. That suffering came to an end in Malaga as Spain finished second to the United States.

The Spanish had three times lost in the U17 World Cup Semi-Finals – in 2012. 2014 and 2016. With legends of Spanish basketball such as Pau Gasol, Jose Calderon, Juan Carlos Navarro, Carlos Jimenez and Felipe Reyes in the stands at Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena, the next generation of Spanish youngsters rose to the challenge and beat France 68-53 to reach the Final. The French trailed by just two points with 6:05 minutes left in the game but managed just two free throws the rest of the way as Spain finished the game on a 15-2 spurt.

The hidden gem – Australian big man Zikarsky wows field

Rocco Zikarsky thrived in the moment in Spain as the Australian center dominated despite being a year younger than the field. The 7ft 1in/2.17m big man averaged 13.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.1 blocks for an Australia team that finished sixth after losing a heartbreaker to Spain in the Quarter-Finals.

He collected three double-doubles during the tournament and four times blocked at least four shots all the while shooting 63.3% from the field. The Australian big man, who picked up 22 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in the Classification 5-6 game, was one constant alley-oop threat on offense while being an enforcer at the other end and even running the break here and there.