Though the United States won comfortably in its opener Friday over Greece at the FIBA U17 World Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the game was no doubt a wake-up call.
After winning by an average margin of 53.4 points per game at last summer's FIBA Americas U16 Championship en route to gold, the USA was tested for all 40 minutes Friday in an 83-73 win over Greece.
Diamond Stone
Photo by Steven Maikoski/USA Basketball
, a 6-foot-10 center from
Dominican (Whitefish Bay, Wis.), paced the United States with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots in the victory.
The MVP of the FIBA Americas U16 Championship last summer in Uruguay,
Callaway (Jackson, Miss.) guard
Malik Newman added 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Highly-touted 2016 guard
Jayson Tatum of
Chaminade (St. Louis) added 10 points.
Giorgios Papagiannis of Greece was a problematic matchup for the United States. The 7-1 center, who signed a professional contract in June after playing high school basketball at
Westtown (Pa.) last season, finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.
Vasilis Charalampopoulos, a 6-8 forward, put up a team-high 17 points for Greece.
The United States — still undefeated in FIBA U17 World Championship play dating back to 2010 — continues Group A competition Saturday against Angola.
Other Friday scoresAustralia 97, Japan 84
Puerto Rico 67, Spain 65
Angola 82, Philippines 72
Serbia 80, China 68
France 76, Canada 66
Italy 121, United Arab Emirates 32
Argentina 74, Egypt 39
