USA win gold; Pound Australia in the final of 2012 FIBA U17 world Championship
Defending Champions USA entered the final of the 2012 FIBA U17 world Championship on a 15 game unbeaten streak and lived up to their billing by brushing aside Australia 95-62 to snatch the gold medal.
Conner Frankamp led the show with 22 points on a 7 of 9 effort from the floor, including 4 for 6 from the land of three. Jahlil Okafor collected 17 points, rebounds and 2 blocks; Jabari Parker had 12 while Justice Winslow notched
up a double-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals.
Mirko Djeric who had 21 points in a shock semifinal win over Croatia had a disappointing night in the final with just 8 points. With him quite, Dante Exum carried the scoring burden and ended the game with 21 points and a team
high 6 rebounds while Nicholas Duncan also managed to score 10 for the Aussies.
The two teams had met in the tournament opener and at that time, a big third quarter had propelled USA to an 89-67 win. However, this time around, the Americans kept Australia under pressure throughout, never allowing them to even
get a sniff.
Nicholas Duncan started the game with a three pointer as Australia took a 3-0 lead. They maintained the lead till the first two minutes, before a Stephen Domingo three tied the score at 5. In the ensuing passage, the game was tied
at 7, 9 and then 11, before USA pulled away with an 11-3 run and closed the first quarter with a 22-14 advantage.
USA scored the first four points in the second quarter to extend the lead into double figures, but the Aussies responded with 5 unanswered points to pull the scores back at 26-19.
The American assault was however relentless. They capped the first half with a 12-5 run and went into the break with a 38-24 edge.
USA shot the ball 58 percent from the floor till the break and were led by 11 points from Jahlil Okafor. The Aussies just managed 28 percent on the other hand and were paced by 8 points from their shooting guard Dante Exum.
Australia started the third quarter with a 6-2 run to make it a ten point game, but the Americans were not in a mood to let their guard down. They responded with an 8-2 run and then outscored the Aussies 12-7 till 2:27 remaining
in the third.
With the score at 60-39, the Aussies called a timeout to get some sort of respite. When play returned Exum made a deuce to bring the deficit under-20. USA however took the lead back to 21 when the teams headed for the last quarter,
the scores being 64-43.
Going into the last 10 minutes, the Aussies needed a miracle to even get competitive, but in the face of a lethal American offensive battery, that proved to be impossible. They just kept ramming through the Australian defense,
and provided an exclamation mark to the tournament with a 12-3 run.
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