The United States continued its domination at the U17 level Sunday, routing Serbia 107-81 in the U17 FIBA World Cup gold medal game in Istanbul, Turkiye.
In eight editions of the FIBA U17 World Cup dating back to 2010, the United States has compiled a record of 58-0.
FC Barcelona standout Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje led the way with 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots in the final.
Southeastern Prep Academy (Orlando, Fla.) teammates
C.J. Rosser (23 points) and
Beckham Black (12 points, 10 assists, three steals) also came up big in the win over Serbia.
Five-star Class of 2027 prospect Beckham Black averaged 12.3 points, 8.3 assists and 3.0 steals per game at the U17 FIBA World Cup. (FILE PHOTO: Sam Stringer)
The United States averaged 126.4 points and outscored opponents by an average of 48.9 points per outing in seven games at the event.
The silver medal finish was Serbia's best-ever finish in the FIBA U17 World Cup. Despite the lopsided score, Nikola Kusturica broke the gold medal game record with 37 points.
Kusturica averaged 24.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.3 steals per contest during the tournament and was also named Best Defensive Player.
Boumtje Boumtje was named tournament MVP with averages of 19.6 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per contest. The future Duke Blue Devil was joined by USA teammate Black, Kusturica of Serbia, Omer Kutluay of Turkiye and Luke Paul of Australia on the All-Star Five.
Second Team selections were Nathan Soliman of France, Darius Karutasu of Turkiye, Matija Lukic of Serbia,
Dwight Gaines of Puerto Rico and Rosser of USA.
Australia knocked off host Turkiye 77-69 in the bronze medal game behind 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists from Paul.
