United States Punches Ticket to Semifinals with 105-61 Win Over Japan

30 June 2023

USA 105, JPN 61

The United States punched its ticket to the semifinals with a 105-61 win over Japan Friday night in Debrecen, Hungary, at the 2023 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup.

The United States will face the winner of France/Serbia in Saturday's semifinal round. The time for that game has yet to be announced. All games are streamed on FIBA's YouTube channel.

The United States has won the competition eight times, including three of the last four competitions (2015, 2019 and 2021).

The USA-Japan box score is available here.

TEAM NOTES

Worth Noting: The U.S. moves to 2-0 all-time versus Japan at the U19 Men’s World Cup. It was the two teams’ first meeting since 1991. With the USA’s 20th straight win, the Americans are now 110-14 all-time at the competition.

Starting Out: The United States used its fifth different starting lineup with Kylan Boswell, Cody Williams, Tobe Awaka, Tre Johnson and Omaha Biliew getting the start.

Playing in the Paint: The U.S. outscored Japan 70-28 in the paint by winning the rebound battle 48-34. The U.S. also had 14 second chance points. Today marked the team’s second game with 70-plus points in the paint (82 vs. Madagascar, 6/24/23).

PLAYER NOTES

Three for Tobe: Awaka notched his third double-double of the tournament, (Slovenia – 14 points/11 rebounds; China – 15 points/14 rebounds) with 14 points and 10 rebounds (6 OREB). He played just 15 minutes. His three double-doubles are tied for the most in the tournament. It’s the fourth U.S. double-double of the tournament (Ven-Allen Lubin’s 11 points and 11 rebounds vs. Slovenia).

Sharing is Caring: Dylan Harper led in the assists column with seven while committing zero turnovers. Harper leads the team in total assists (20). The U.S. had nine players with assists in the game.

High Scorers: Three Americans—Biliew, Williams and Miles Colvin—notched their tournament-highs versus Japan. Biliew and Williams scored 15 points apiece (Biliew, 10, Madagascar; Williams, 13, Lebanon), while Colvin contributed ten points (Colvin, 8, Madagascar and China).

Double-Digit Dailey: Eric Dailey Jr’s 12 points gave him a double figure scoring night for the fifth game of the tournament. He’s the only U.S. player to notch double figures in all five games.