It’s here - the Final of the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2026. All the talk and speculation and anticipation … it’s over and we finally get to see who the 2026 champions will be. USA or Serbia. The Americans beat Australia in the Semi-Finals and are now shooting for an eighth straight undefeated run. Serbia for their part are playing in their first Final after a Semi-Finals victory over hosts Türkiye that was a game for the ages.
Can Serbia end USA’s winning streak? Or will it be 58-0 for USA all-time in this event?
Before that, here is a look back at the two Semi-Finals and the rest of the classification action on the penultimate day in Istanbul.
Türkiye and Serbia provided basketball fans with a game for the ages in the Semi-Finals, and in the end it was Serbia somehow keeping their focus in front of a wild record-breaking crowd to beat the hosts 76-71 and reach the Final.
Türkiye have been thrilling the fans all tournament and they looked like they would do it again against Serbia, coming back from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to pull ahead in the final frame. Ömer Kutluay had been bottled up by Serbia in the first half with just 6 points but he erupted for 12 points in the third quarter alone.
By that point, the crowd of 8,348 fans the Basketball Development Center - a new FIBA U17 World Cup attendance record - was simply deafening.
The previous record was 8,122 fans in Malaga in 2022 in the Final between Spain and USA.
Much of the talk during the tournament has been about K&K - Türkiye’s superhero tandem of Kutluay and Darius Karutasu. But Serbia have shown they have a pretty strong one-two punch as well with Nikola Kusturica and Matija Lukic.
The Serbs trailed 60-55 but their dynamic duo went on a 12-0 run with Lukic draining back to back three-pointers and Serbia led 67-60. Kutluay provided some more magic with back-to-back triples of his own and Türkiye were down just 73-71.
After an empty Serbia possession, Türkiye were charged with an offensive foul and the Turkish coach was hit with a technical foul. Ognjen Simjanovski held his nerves as the Turkish fans were even louder to hit the free throw and Kusturica split two free throws with 64 seconds to play to make it 75-71.
Neither side could score until Simjanovski again braved the Turkish fans’ jeers with 5 seconds to play and made one of two for the final scoreline, later saying: “I'm glad I hit at least one of them. They were hard as fuck.”
Serbia had done it - they reached their first Final in history. Kusturica finished with 25pt 5rb 3as 3st 1bl, Lukic scored 20pt and Simjanovski added 10pt 6as in the win. Türkiye were paced by Kutluay with another magical performance of 25pt 7rb 8as 2st 3to - no turnovers in the final 30 minutes of the game. Karutasu did his thing with 16pt 10rb while Besir Briant had his best game with 17pt 6rb.
While Serbia take on USA for the title, Türkiye will look to make it back-to-back bronzes as they face Australia for third place.
USA showed once again their relentness and domination as they put together an impressive defensive performance in the third quarter to race away from Australia 114-65 to reach the Final.
The Americans already took control of the game with a 26-14 second quarter but then tightened the screws in the third quarter, which they won 32-10 to end any hopes of an upset. Six USA players scored in double figures, topped by Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje with 23pt 15rb while AJ Williams had 16pt and NaVorro Bowman added 15pt.
NextGen Hoops@NextGenHoops
Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje was a must-watch TV in the Semi-Finals against Australia 🍿 📊 23 PTS | 15 REB | 3 STL | 34 EFF #FIBAU17 x @usabasketball
5:42 PM · Jul 4, 2026 · 4.11K Views
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Australia committed 25 turnovers in the game and shot just 15% on three-pointers. Luke Paul managed to score 12pt and Alex Mabbott evened his tournament high with 10pt. The Crocs will hope to bounced back in the third place game against hosts Türkiye as they aim to add 2026 bronze to their silvers from 2012 and 2014.
The fifth place game is not where France were hoping to play on the final day in Istanbul, but at least the team can feel good about their bounce back. After a disappointing loss to Türkiye in the Quarter-Finals, France used a strong second half to beat Lithuania 73-59 to set up a game against Canada for fifth place.
Tony Parker’s team won the final 20 minutes 42-30 with Messi Yangala scoring 15pt and Nathan Soliman totalling 9pt 10rb 8as 2st 3bl. Lithuania were led by Kristupas Sabeckas with 17pt but they were not enough and the Baltic nation will face Puerto Rico for seventh place.
Canada gave their fans a wild ride in the Classification 5-8 action as they blew a 19-point lead but still managed to blowout Puerto Rico 101-82 to set up a showdown with France for fifth place.
Canada led 54-34 with 2 minutes left in the first half but then trailed in the fourth quarter. The game was knotted 80-80 with 5 minutes to play when Canada ran away with it on a 21-2 surge. Liam Mitakaro had 23pt 6rb 10as 2st 2bl, Isaiah Hamilton scored 20pt, Kenyon St. Louis contributed 17pt 7as and giant Jeremy Gohier chipped in 8pt 7rb 3as 2bl.
Jeremy Willmore poured in 24pt and DJ Gaines added 13pt 8as 6st in the loss for Puerto Rico, who will take on Lithunia for seventh place.
Slovenia are just one win from at least salvaging their disappointing start to the tournament as they knocked off Côte d’Ivoire 86-73 to reach the game for ninth place. The Europeans took the fourth quarter 27-10 and won their second straight game - setting up a matchup against China.
Jakob Siftar poured in 21pt with 7rb 4as to lead the way and Matic Rezec picked up 19pt 9rb 2st for Slovenia. Jean-Charles Siransi had 12pt to lead the Africans, who will take on New Zealand for 11th place in their first tournament.
New Zealand fans have to be thinking what could have been as the Kiwis once again lost a big lead in losing to China 92-79 in a rematch of the FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025 Semi-Finals - won also by China.
New Zealand built a 15-point lead late in the first half and went into the break up by 12 points. China then won the third quarter 26-17 and took the final frame 31-15 to set up a showdown with Slovenia for 9th place. Zhang Chunzhi scored 24pt, Lyu Feiyan had 20pt, Zhang Yizhaojie picked up 19pt 7rb 5as 2st and big man Zhao Boxin tallied 11pt 7rb 2as 2st 4bl.
It was another collapse by New Zealand, who lost a 25-point lead to Türkiye in the opening game and a 13-point advantage the next game to Puerto Rico. Jayden Cecil continued his outstanding FIBA debut with 25pt 5rb and Liam Keogh added 14pt 6rb in the loss.
Japan finally collected their first victory of the competition as they defeated Venezuela 62-52 in Classification 13-16 action. Chussonjakku “Jack” Shiratani collected 20pt 14rb 3st as Japan moved into the Classification 13-14. If the Asians can beat Italy, they will register their best finish in U17 World Cup history - topping their 14th places in 2014 and 2022.
Venezuela were paced by Kevin Gutierrez with 13pt 11rb 3as, but the first-timers are still waiting for their first win. The game had a scary moment when Venezuela Carlos Perez took an elbow from Rikuto Isoda late in the first half. Perez needed medical attention at halfcourt and was carted off the court. Venezuela have one final chance for win as they face fellow winless debutants Cameroon for 15th place.
Italy will play Japan for 13th place after the Europeans snapped a four-game losing streak in knocking off Cameroon - thanks to another outstanding showing from Nicolo Ronci.
The Italan guard poured in 18pt with 4rb 5st one day after picking up 27pt 4rb 4as 3st while playing 29 and 22 minutes in those games. Before the Classification 9-16 game, Ronci had totalled only 29 points in 59 mintues over four games. Cristian Malano led Italy in scoring with 20pt and Lapo Santini chipped in 10pt 4rb 3st 2bl.
Cameroon will take on Venezuela for 15th place - one of those teams will make history with their first ever win. The Lions had Jason Essoua collect 13pt 8rb 2st.
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