#TBT Malik Newman breaks defender's ankles during Team USA's 122-38 victory over Japan! Newman finished with 15 & Jayson Tatum had a team-high 19.
Full Game: https://t.co/TOtWoN5b8h pic.twitter.com/crxRz5zcm2
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) August 16, 2018
The USA Men's U17 team's game against Japan on Tuesday was a real nail-biter. After only going on a 22-0 run to start the game and having a 44-6 lead in the first, the USA team was still able to pull off an 84-point win: 122 to 38?!
The bench was decent, outscoring the Japanese bench 59-5, which made up for the USA's lack of dominance in the paint, where they only outscored Japan 86-14.
All jokes aside, the USA youngsters were professionals that performed well on the court and showed more class than me off the court.
“These guys did a great job of staying focused today,” said USA head coach Don Showalter, who now owns an overall 20-0 win-loss record in FIBA U17 World Championship Games. “The thing we focused on is doing things the right way. We’re still working on getting them to do things the right way. When you respect your opponent, you still play hard. The worst thing you can do is disrespect your opponent, not play hard and make a mockery of the game. So, our kids really focused in on that and that’s what we wanted to do.”
Despite the dominant performance by the US team, the Japanese team did compete hard for the entire game, especially Rui Hachimura, who scored 25 of the team's 38 points.
“I really credit Japan for not giving up,” said Newman. “They played hard each play down the court. They’re small, but they’re tough. They have a lot of heart. Tor those guys to come out and compete like they did really speaks a lot about them.”
The US team also beat China 113-71 yesterday and will be playing Serbia in the FIBA U17 World Semifinals.