ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - The hoops gods are looking down on Istanbul as they gave yet more tantalizing storylines in the Round of 16 at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024, including Felipe Quinones scoring a historic 42 points in Puerto Rico's shocking upset of France; United States breaking more records; two countries reaching the Quarter-Finals for the first time; and hosts Türkiye winning yet again.
Quinones' 42 points power Puerto Rico shock of France
As far as upsets go in U17 World Cup history, Puerto Rico beating France 91-84 to eliminate the title contenders has to rank pretty high up there. But it took one of the greatest performances the event has ever seen to do so with Felipe Quinones fighting past a lingering leg injury and scoring 42 points - the second most ever in a U17 World Cup game.
Puerto Rico were unfazed facing the No. 2 team in the pre-tournament Power Rankings and led most of the game and shrugged off any France comeback attempt to reach the final eight for the third time in three appearances.
"We came here with the mentality of a medal and showcase what we have. We can't ask for anything else. One of the top eight in the world for a small island is something big and I'm just glad that I am part of it," said Quinones, whose 42 points trail only Dzanan Musa of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2016.
Besides Quinones, Justin Roman collected 21 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocks for Puerto Rico, and France wasted a 23-point showing from Hugo Yimga.
Another USA win, more U17 World Cup records
It was just another day in the office for United States as they breezed to another victory - a 141-45 blowout of Philippines to bring their all-time mark in the U17 World Cup to 48-0 - and break three more U17 World Cup records in the process.
USA broke the all-time assist record for the third straight game with 49 assists while also setting new marks with 62 made field goals and 52 made two-pointers. And the 141 points scored ranked second all-time - behind only their 146 points a day earlier against China.
Eight Americans tallied double figure points against Philippines with Koa Peat scoring 22 points, Cameron Boozer adding 20 points and Cayden Boozer chipping in 12 points and 9 assists. Joaquin Ludovice had 15 points to pace Philippines.
Italy surprise Australia, reach Quarter-Finals first time; Crocs' first time outside top eight
The U17 World Cup keeps providing storylines as Italy rallied from 19 points down to reach the Quarter-Finals for the first time with a 95-91 overtime win against Australia, who missed the top eight for the first time.
Australia led by 19 points midway through the third quarter and looked to have weathered the Italian comeback, still leading 79-74 with 30 seconds to go. But Mattia Ceccato hit a three-pointer, Italy stole the inbounds ball and Diego Garavaglia converted a layup to send the game to overtime.
Then it was time for Achille Lonati to shine with 3 three-pointers and a layup in the extra session for 11 of his 13 points. Garavaglia finished with 19 points and 9 rebounds and Maikcol Perez just missed a triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists.
"We won a game that nobody thought we could win because we were down by 19 points. We got back into the game and went to overtime and it was amazing," Garavaglia said.
Australia, who twice lost in the Final (2012 and 2014), will drop to the Classification 9-16 despite Dash Daniels also narrowly missing a triple-double himself with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.
New Zealand reach Quarter-Finals for first time
There is big time joy in New Zealand as the Kiwis defeated Egypt 85-64 to lock up a spot in the Quarter-Finals for the first time in history.
Six New Zealanders tallied in double figures - topped by Lachlan Crate with 14 points and Troy Plumtree added 12 points and 7 rebounds. The Oceanian side finished 14th in 2018 and 12th in 2022 but now find themselves among the top eight in the world. Ali Assran scored 21 points with 9 rebounds for Egypt.
Türkiye keep winning, reach third straight Quarters
Türkiye booked their ticket to the Quarter-Finals for the third time in three appearances with a dominant 81-54 victory over Germany. The hosts have now won three straight games since losing their opener.
Germany needed more than 8 minutes to score their second basket of the game and trailed 22-9 after 10 minutes and could not threaten the rest of the way. Derin Can Ustun scored 18 points and Kaan Onat tallied 17 points with 6 assists for Türkiye. Declan Duru was Germany's top scorer with 11 points.
Other results:
Top highlight
Quarter-Finals matchups
Lithuania vs New Zealand
USA vs Canada
Puerto Rico vs Italy
Spain vs Türkiye
Classification 9-16
China vs Egypt
Philippines vs Argentina
Guinea vs Germany
France vs Australia
FIBA