ISTANBUL (Türkiye) - The first knockout games of the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 are complete and we have the top eight teams in the world set with the Quarter-Finals. Meanwhile the other eight teams head into the Classification 9-16 thinking of only winning their final three games to finish ninth. All that means it's time for Volume 2 of the Smart Power Rankings.
16. Philippines (=)
Philippines lost their star Kieffer Alas just before the tournament and have been over-matched in each game. It's hard to imagine they will pick up a single win in Istanbul but Philippines will definitely not stop fighting to give their best.
15. Germany (-6)
Germany clearly are missing solid playmaking and leadership and that makes Declan Duru and Fabian Kayser take roles they should not have to accept. The roster has talent but it hasn't been able to tap into it as hoped.
14. Guinea (-2)
Guina captured the imagination of the basketball world by beating China in the opening game of their first ever U17 World Cup appearance. But the team has slumped to three straight losses - really struggling to handle the ball.
Still the team has talent and promise and has three more chances to give more inspiration to youngsters back home.
13. Egypt (+2)
Egypt are the hard luck losers of the tournament so far, dropping their three group games by a combined 13 points including one overtime defeat. Egypt have a strong core and bright outlook with the likes of Ali Assran, Youssef Elhalawany and Omar Essam.
12. China (+2)
Any team with two players who quite likely will advance to their country's senior national team should be happy, and Boyuan Zhang and Sinan Huan have anchored a China team that has shown it can fight.
First off they shocked France in the group stage and then came back from 15 points down to take the lead but eventually lost to Lithuania in the Round of 16.
11. Argentina (-3)
Argentina have to be disappointed about not making the Quarter-Finals with their two stars Tyler Kropp and Felipe Minzer. But the rest of the team has not been able to help them enough.
10. Australia (-6)
A historic fall for the Crocs as Australia missed out on the Quarter-Finals for the first time. They were a bit unlucky having to face a strong Italy team in the Round of 16. Now they have to bounce back and aim for ninth place.
9. France (-7)
The biggest loser of the tournament by far, France were considered the only team to really have a chance of possibly beating the United States. After sticking around against USA in the opener, France were shocked by China.
And then came the nightmare of losing to Puerto Rico in the Round of 16 in a bad match-up. France can hardly accept anything other than ninth place now.
8. New Zealand (+5)
The Kiwis have made history by reaching the Quarter-Finals for the first time with a strong generation around Oscar Goodman, Troy Plumtree and Hayden Jones. Anything else right now is the cherry on top.
7. Puerto Rico (+4)
Puerto Rico pulled off one of the biggest surprises in U17 World Cup history to make it 3-for-3 in reaching the Quarter-Finals after beating France. Felipe Quinones has been slowed for about month but willed himself to a historic performance with 42 points against France.
How much does he have left in the tank?
6. Türkiye (+4)
Kaan Onat has lived up to his billing as lead guard and Derin Can Ustun has been the Robin to Onat's Batman. The rest of the team has been role players around them and accepted that status, and backed by the home crowd,
Türkiye is playing well - having won three straight games after losing the opener.
5. Canada (+2)
Canada survived the first two games playing without star forward Paul Osaruyi and despite losing the final group game got back to the Quarter-Finals after missing them in 2022.
And Osaruyi stepped up in the Round of 16 with a big game and Miles Sadler has been shining as playmaker.
4. Italy (=)
Everything worked out just fine for Italy as they reached the Quarter-Finals for the first time in history despite losing their first two games and finishing last in the group stage. Italy got a favorable match-up with Australia in the Round of 16 and Diego Garavaglia and co. is just one win over Puerto Rico from the Semi-Finals.
3. Lithuania (+3)
Lithuania leapfrog Italy after a stronger campaign so far with only a narrow - and somewhat heartbreaking - loss against Spain in reaching the Quarter-Finals for the fourth time in five tournaments.
Dovydas Buika and Arturas Butajevas and the rest of Lithuania do face a bit of pressure from the homeland though as the other three generations (2010, 2016 and 2022) all advanced to the Semi-Finals.
2. Spain (+1)
Spain benefit from the tumble of France by taking the second spot in the rankings as Joaquin Pardo's team are still perfect - including an impressive comeback win over Lithuania.
Spain will face a tough test in the Quarter-Finals against hosts Türkiye - but the Iberians would love another shot at United States after the country lost to them in the 2022 Final.
1. USA (=)
Nothing has changed at the top - and rightfully so. This USA team might be the best ever as they broke the U17 World Cup single game scoring record and eclipsed the single game assist record in three consecutive games.
Sharman White's team is blowing out teams by 69.5 points - which would shatter their top tournament winning average of 53.7 points from 2018. Cameron Boozer and AJ Dybantsa have been the two biggest stars of the team - but this unit clearly is full of guys who have checked their egos at the door and only want to win the title.
FIBA