By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
LAUSANNE (Switzerland) – Considered one of the favorite national teams to go until the very end, Germany managed to reach the final of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup.
Last year’s U18 EuroBasket winners achieved their goal by beating Slovenia 72-84 in the Semi-Finals, driven by an outstanding performance by Christian Anderson (27 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists). Hannes Steinbach (14 points and 16 rebounds) and Jack Kayil (12 points and 4 assists) contributed too.
For Slovenia, Mark Padjen had his best performance of the tournament, finishing with 23 points over 6/8 from beyond the arc with 5 assists as well. Zak Smrekar had 12 points in the loss.
Team USA absolutely dominated the Tall Blacks
Last year, getting to the final matchup at the U17 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Team USA had an 80-point victory against New Zealand in the Semi-Finals.
In 2025, the Tall Blacks managed to reduce such a gap, but were still eliminated against the favorites to win it all, that prevailed 120-61. With most of Team USA resting, it was the right opportunity to emerge for second-unit members such as Jasper Johnson (14 points) and Caleb Holt (20 points and 7 rebounds).
On the losing team, which will now compete for bronze against Slovenia, Julius Halaifonua finished with a losing effort of 15 points and 4 rebounds.
Quarter-Finals
Slovenia – Israel 79-55
Germany – Australia 80-67
Canada – USA 102-108
New Zealand – Switzerland 84-70
Semi-Finals
Slovenia – Germany 72-84
USA – New Zealand 120-61
Finals
3rd place: Slovenia – New Zealand (06/07 at 17:00 CET)
1st place: Germany – USA (06/07 at 20:00 CET)
PHOTO CREDIT: FIBA