Best of 2014: Salvadores hits 40 points in title game; Ionescu a hidden star

MIES (Switzerland) - The third edition of the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup was a landmark event in Czech Republic as the field was expanded to 16 nations, with many also taking first-ever wins.

It also witnessed a classic Final matchup and arguably the best individual performance the event has ever seen in the title game itself. Here's our review of the action in Pilsen and Klatovy, while our wrap of the 2010 edition is HERE and the 2012 edition HERE. 

Top of the podium and with the three-peat : USA 

USA claimed the title for a third successive edition and once again, they did so with an unbeaten record once again, winning all seven of their games on Czech soil. An early 88-40 demolition of France signalled a cakewalk for the reigning champions and that is how it panned out - until Spain came within a bucket of causing a massive upset in the gold medal game. 

The champions were propelled by a real team effort, with  Katie Lou Samuelson, Joyner Holmes and Lauren Cox all influential on the wing and in the forward positions, while Asia Durr and Arike Ogunbowale took the lead in the backcourt. 

Rank	Team	W-L
1.	USA	7-0
2.	Spain	6-1
3.	Hungary	6-1
4.	Czech Republic	4-3
5.	Australia	6-1
6.	Canada	3-4
7.	Japan	4-3
8.	France	3-4
9.	Brazil	5-2
10.	Korea	2-5
11.	China	3-4
12.	Mali	`1-6
13.	Italy	3-4
14.	Mexico	1-6
15.	Slovakia	2-5
16.	Egypt	0-7

Meet the MVP: Angela Salvadores (Spain)

When you are crowned MVP despite your team not winning the title, you know you have put in a special performance and that was the case with Angela Salvadores of Spain. Her inspirational 40-point show in the Final was arguably one of the best performances at any FIBA youth event, not just the U17 World Cup. She led Spain with 19.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

USA only just dug out the victory and their campaign was fuelled by two excellent showings from Katie-Lou Samuelson and Joyner Holmes. The former netted 13.9 points per outing and almost shot 50 percent from the floor, while Joyner showed her strength inside with 10.6 points and 5.7 boards per game.

Meanwhile Hungary also witnessed two of their players make the prestigious lineup as they made history by taking the last podium step. Debora Dubei brought the noise as her team's leading scorer with 15.6 points per game as Kiss did the business in the paint with and average of 13.3 points and 8.3 boards.

On absolute fire:  Angela Salvadores (Spain)

The monumental effort from Salvadores was indeed one for the ages. Never to be forgotten. Sometimes you just have to sit back and let the action tell the story. Not just the 40 points to almost topple USA, but the actual buckets were so often poetry in motion and as everybody left the Arena when the curtain eventually came down on the tournament, there was only one talking point. Yes, THAT display. 

Five star entertainment: Saving the best until last...

 
Perhaps one of the reasons that the phenomenal and memorable 40-point effort of Salvadores was so captivating and dominant at this edition, was that it came within the context of the best game the competition had ever seen at that point. Having obliterated everyone in their way during their first six games, USA were expected to stroll to the gold medal.

But, Salvadores had other ideas and was unstoppable. Completely unguardable and USA were almost made to pay the price. But credit in particular to center Lauren Cox whose excellent double-double in the title game of 20 points and 12 rebounds helped the champions to retain their crown.

African history: Mali make statement against Italy

Having made history two years earlier with their first victory in the competition and a first for African basketball, Mali managed to repeat the feat in 2014. They also racked up a significant first-ever success against a European nation, with their nail-biting 46-44 win against Italy making people sit up and take notice. While a defensively-dominated affair, it showed that Mali could punch hard on the global stage. And what about the heroic performance from Djeneba N'Diaye? She scored 25 of her team's points on a day she will never forget.

The hidden star: Sabrina Ionescu - USA

There was a major future star relatively hidden on the USA roster too. Sabrina Ionescu was 7th in minutes and 8th in scoring for her team. She would go on to star in college and become a senior baller with USA, while also capturing mainstream attention for making history in her 2024 NBA All-Star Game shootout against Steph Curry. 

Stats leaders

Scorers

Player	Points Per Game
Angela Salvadores	19.9
Jisu Park	18.6
Debora Dubei	15.6
Julia Reisingerova	15.3
Bridget Carleton	14.4

 

Rebounds

Player	Rebounds Per Game
Jisu Park	13.4
Julia Reisingerova	12.0
Anneli Maley	11.4
Mariam Coulibaly	9.0
Lauren Cox	8.4

 

Assists

Player	Assists Per Game
Heji An	4.1
Angela Salvadores	3.8
Asia Durr	3.4
Tahlia Tupaea	3.4
Maite Cazorla	3.0
Iris Junio	3.0

FIBA