USA Advance to Gold Medal Game at FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup With 114-65 Semifinal Win Over Australia

04 July 2026

USA 114, AUS 65

The USA (6-0) earned a 114-65 victory over Australia (5-1) in the semifinal round at the 2026 FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup in Istanbul. Following the win, the USA moved to 5-0 against Australia and 57-0 all-time in FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup play.

The USA are set to face the winner of Türkiye vs. Serbia in the gold medal game tomorrow at 1:15 p.m. ET.

View the USA-Australia box score here.

POSTGAME NOTES

Going for Hardware: The USA will head to the FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup final for the eighth consecutive time, with the red, white and blue winning gold at all seven previous iterations of the event. The U.S. have prevailed over six different countries (Australia, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, Türkiye) in the U17 final, with the most recent victory coming against Italy (129-88) in 2024.

Star Spangled Squad: The semifinal contest was a battle in the first quarter, with both teams trading punches before Australia took an early 15-12 lead. The U.S. would inch away to end the opening period with a 23-21 lead, but the Aussies continued to hang around, keeping it close at 27-26 early in the second. From there, the USA would go on a 16-5 run to break the game open, eventually heading into the break with a 49-35 advantage.

To silent any hopes of a comeback, the U.S. jumped out to a 21-6 run to begin the second half, outscoring Australia 32-10 in the third period to push the lead to 81-45.

Pure Stroke: With 6 3-pointers, the stars and stripes are now at 65 total makes from outside at the U17 competition, marking a U.S. record. The USA total from outside surpasses the previous record of 64 3s which was set across eight games at the inaugural event in 2010. The U.S. are averaging a blistering 10.8 3-pointers per game at a 38.2% (65-170 3FG) clip through six games in Istanbul.

Fireworks: As he has done all tournament, Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje sparked the USA offense, finishing with his third double-double of the competition with 23 points (9-16 FG, 3-5 3FG, 2-2 FT) and 14 rebounds, while adding 1 assist, 3 steals and 1 block. Boumtje Boumtje has recorded 15+ points in five consecutive games, while averaging a team best 19.5 points at the World Cup.

Controlling the Game: The U.S. were able to force opponent miscues while limiting their own, forcing 25 turnovers to their own 5. The red, white and blue capitalized on their defensive opportunities, totaling 38 points off turnovers, compared to only 1 for Australia. Beckham Black led the way for the stars and stripes with 5 steals, with 7 total U.S. players recording at least one swipe.