FIBA U19 World Cup Final: Mali Chases an Impossible Dream while USA Seeks Redemption

Andrea Cassini

FIBA U19 World Cup Final: Mali Chases an Impossible Dream while USA Seeks Redemption image

Article written in partnership with Overtime Basket

 

It's the afternoon of June 6th in Heraklion, Greece, on the Isle of Crete. It's the first semi final match in the FIBAU19 World Cup, granting the winner a place on the podium and a spot in the final. Mali has broken away from France in the second quarter, and is managing to stay out of reach. 

According to any predictions, Mali shouldn't even be in that semifinal, having already crushed every international record for African basketball – not only limited to the youth sector – simply by venturing this far into the tournament (previously, Nigeria and Egypt had set the bar at the 11th place). 

Nonetheless, Mali has fought for and deserved every inch of their path here in Crete; they showed up on the court like a clear-cut favorite rather than an underdog, becoming aware of their own potential and growing up one game at a time, until they became an unstoppable force against less heralded teams (77 – 62 over New Zealand in the round of 16, and a swift 84 – 74 over Puerto Rico in the round of 8) and the bane of the big ones (specifically, Latvia and Canada). 

Oumar Ballo Mali FIBA

Now, the new mission is to learn from their own mistakes. Against Canada, in the group stage, Mali let the door open for an extremely dangerous comeback attempt by Canada, stopping just short of a decisive three pointer at the buzzer after trailing for the biggest portion of the game. As Mali and France fight their way to the final on the hardwood, in the fourth quarter, everybody seems to think that a similar comeback might be possible. 

After all, France landed in Greece with nothing but the final in their minds, and has been pointed in that direction ever since. A single defeat, against Serbia, and many assertive wins: pushing the host team of Greece out of the brackets in the round of 16 and then dealing with Canada, the defending champions, in the following round. 

Joel Ayayi being responsible for 25 the team’s points, alongside 8 rebounds and 7 assists to fill an astonishing, MVP-caliber statline. Plus, Ayayi is not the only one enjoying his time in Crete. France boasts the athletic and talented duo of Karlton Dimanche and Mathis Dossou Yovu too. Watching the game, it seemed like a team like this would inevitably hit the switch and turn the semifinal around.

In crunch time and coach Crapez tries to destabilize Mali's gameplan with a zone defense. But there's a moment, a single frame in time: if we pause the game in that very moment, we realize it's right there that the Mali team asserts its will. As a team they seemed to resolutely make the statement that the final was theirs for the taking. 

With 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Joel Ayayi dribbles towards the basket and releases a high arcing floater that leaves his fingertips ever so softly, to cut Mali's lead to four points. Oumar Ballo closes out running from his usual spot in the paint, he seems to be late, but in the end he manages to somehow tip the ball with his fingers, then retrieves it. 

Joel Ayayi France FIBA

At times, during this tournament, Ballo has seemed like a man playing among boys, or a professional playing among amateurs. His overwhelming – given his age – physical prowess shows through the 17 points, 11 boards and 4 blocks he collects in this game, but he's also showing flashes of a developing, and surprising skill set. 

Ayayi, instead, maybe bothered by the long arms of the Malian defense, would end the game on a statline far less impressive than what we've grown accustomed to seeing from him in a tournament in which he’s been among the MVP candidates: 8 points, shooting 3/15 from the floor. 

Three minutes later, another picture frozen in time. We're around the 60 points mark, Mali has put France in a cage with its defense (it's the number one team in the tournament in blocks) but the team’s offense is struggling, often relying on second chance points (they're also number one in total and offensive rebounds). 

Now's the time to beat coach Crapez's zone defense. Fousseyni Drame catches the ball on the perimeter, his defender is at arms length but doesn’t close out, daring him to shoot. Drame rises up, three more points down on the scoreboard. 

In the last picture from this game, the scoreboard is stuck at 76 – 73, with three zeros to signal that time is up. 

Mali's players are kneeling on the floor, kissing the hardwood. They're loosening all the emotions they've kept inside their hearts until now.

 

Greece is a land known for its stories and mythology. If, instead of Crete, we were some kilometers north, in what now is Lamia's territory but in 480BC was known as Thermopylae, we could see the upcoming FIBA U19 World Cup final between Mali and the USA as a metaphor for the three hundred mighty Spartans led by King Leonidas defending the pass – the same hardwood floor they've kissed and knelt on – from the endless tides of Persian warriors. An impossible task.

Granted, in reality there will always be five men on the court for both teams, and yet, the talent level and physical ability of this USA team can often make it seem like they have more. Coach Weber is free to employ his budding stars like he did against Lithuania, in their semifinal, winning big at 102 – 67. 

Noone plays more than 23 minutes, the starting five meshes with the second unit to achieve the perfect mix. If the talent of the versatile Jalen Green seems to stand out, it may partially be because of his flashy style, both on and off the court (where his already large following on social networks is growing bigger game after game). On the floor, his skill set combines effortlessly with those of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs, Jeremiah Robinson and Kira Lewis Jr. (3//3 from three point range against Lithuania). 

This USA Basketball team has come such a long way from the rough patch they hit in the last World Cup, two years ago in Egypt, where they were beaten by Canada in the semi-finals, that this time their path seems almost strangely unobstructed. 116 – 66 over Latvia in the round of 16, 95 – 80 over Russia in the round of 8, and not a single challenge worthy of its name; lots of smiles and very few reasons to worry. 

If it's true that hubris, in ancient Greek tragedies, spelt the rightful punishment for heroes, coach Weber's young men should not be arrogant or complacent while facing Mali – in the most unexpected and never-before-seen final match we could have imagined. Instead, they'll need to step on the floor like it is their final hurdle, the steepest one, on the uphill path to the redemption they seek.

We will surely see if this seemingly unstoppable USA team will be the first to have enough firepower to dismantle Mali's tenacious defense.

Scotty barnes USA FIBA

So many stories have played themselves out in such few days of basketball action. After ending the group stage unbeaten, on an absolute tear, Argentina was dreaming big, stepping into a favorable spot in the bracket. On the contrary, his opponent, Puerto Rico, was stuck without a single win. But the two teams knew each other, having fought for a bronze medal in the last Americas Championship; that day it was Argentina who came out on top, but this time Puerto Rico turned the tables, thanks to its star player, Julian Lee Strawther. He's enrolled at Gonzaga, like many other prospects we've seen throughout the tournament – scoring 15 points. A compensation for an entire country, unfortunately smothered 24 hours later by Mali.

Europe doesn't accomplish its mission and ends up not being able to bring a team to the final. Serbia and Lithuania, to speak the truth, had met in a gruesome affair in the round of 8 which, incidentally, turned out to be World Cup's best match so far. As Canada was suffering a slight dip in its performances and France seemed a bit too immature at times, Serbia looked like the best equipped contender to bother United States' supremacy: boasting two European gold medals, an impressive group stage and a duo of potential MVPs in Pecarski and Petrusev (they grew up as rivals playing in their club teams, but joined forces under the Serbian flag in 2015 and never looked back since) running full steam ahead. 

Filip Petrusev Serbia FIBA

But would it be fair to call the Serbian run a disappointment, when Lithuania overcame them by playing at a whole new level, combining effort, accuracy and focus in such a way that has “perfect match” written all over? Lithuania needed one overtime to solve the Serbian riddle, but in the end they won 92 – 85. Their tournament had begun on the wrong foot, with two losses placing them in a tough side of the bracket, but they grew confident beating Australia in the round of 16 and were now able to force the experienced Serbian offense to 18 turnovers, 10 of them by Petrusev himself, tainting an otherwise brilliant statline of a 16 point, 15 rebound double double. At the same time, Lithuania was enjoying the best version of Rokas Jokubaitis – a top prospect to watch in this tournament, and the protégé of his coach at Žalgiris Kaunas, Šarūnas Jasikevičius – they had seen so far: 21 points, 14 assists and 4 boards.

Reaching the semis in Heraklion has been the last of many important feats for Baltic basketball, coming a little bit offf the radar this time. The clash for the bronze medal won't be less compelling than the gold medal match. France is looking to get back on track and Lithuania will do its best to add another trophy to its noble tradition.

Andrea Cassini