7

Jul

U19 World Cup

Emus finish 6th, Roman earns All-Second Team nod

Written By

basketball.com.au

Emus finish 6th, Roman earns All-Second Team nod
Emus finish 6th, Roman earns All-Second Team nod

Australian Emus leading scorer Luke Fennell. Photo: FIBA.com

Game Replays

Australian Emus finish sixth at the 2025 FIBA Under-19 Men's World Cup in Switzerland

Australia's Luke Fennell delivered 18 points in a tight 75-72 2025 FIBA World Cup classification loss to Canada at Lausanne Arena in Switzerland on Monday, July 7, 2025.

The Emus lost by three despite a strong second-quarter surge as the game remained in the balance until the final buzzer.

Australian forward Roman Siulepa was voted to the tournament's All-Second Team after averaging 18 points per game as the Emus advanced to the quarter finals for the first time in a decade. There gold medal quest ended at the hands of Germany.

Key Details

By the Numbers

  • Luke Fennell (Australia) starred with 18 points, four rebounds, and one assist in 29 minutes.
  • Tristan Beckford (Canada) scored 17 points, had five rebounds, one steal, and one block in 27 minutes.

What Happened

Australia were behind in the opening quarter 22-15 as Canada established control early. The Australians responded with a dominant second quarter, outscoring Canada 31-21 to take a 46-43 halftime lead. However, Canada regained momentum in the third period, limiting Australia to just 11 points while adding 17 of their own to lead 60-57 heading into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter proved to be a tense affair with both teams scoring 15 points each, allowing Canada to maintain their three-point advantage and secure the victory. Australia's second-quarter surge, where they outscored Canada by 10 points, ultimately wasn't enough to overcome their struggles in the other periods.

Luke Fennell was outstanding for Australia, connecting on five-from-10 from downtown en route to a team-high 18 points. Roman Siulepa added 16 points and six rebounds, while Che Dean Miller Brogan contributed an efficient 15 points on four-from-six shooting from the field, along with perfect seven-from-seven performance from the charity stripe.

For Canada, Tristan Beckford led all scorers with 17 points on six-from-12 shooting, including two-from-four from beyond the arc. Abdul Aziz Olajuwon provided 11 points off the bench on an efficient five-from-eight shooting. Canada's rebounding advantage proved decisive, as they collected 47 boards compared to Australia's 41, with Spencer Ahrens grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.

The shooting percentages told the story of the game, with Canada connecting on 45.2 percent (28-from-62) of their field goal attempts compared to Australia's 32.9 percent (25-from-76). Canada also dominated inside, scoring 21-from-42 on two-point attempts and blocking six shots to Australia's zero.

Final Standings

USA reclaimed their spot atop global basketball by taking home the crown at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 with a 109-76 victory over Germany in the Final.

A crowd of 7,234 at Lausanne Arena saw the Americans put together a 22-2 run early in the second half to take control of the game. Morez Johnson Jr scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack of six USA players in double figures.

USA had finished fourth at the 2023 edition and this year's group considered themselves a Redeem Team. And the Americans accomplished the mission.

Germany had already secured their best-ever result at the competition just by reaching the Final. They could not keep up with the Americans' firepower and settled for second place. Hannes Steinbach had 19 points in the loss.

AJ Dybantsa capped an impressive run to the title by winning the Most Valuable Player award. Dybantsa collected 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in USA's win over Germany and averaged 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

1. USA
2. Germany
3. Slovenia
4. New Zealand
5. Canada
6. Australia
7. Israel
8. Switzerland
9. Serbia
10. France
11. Mali
12. Argentina
13. China
14. Cameroon
15. Dominican Republic
16. Jordan

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