U17 men survive 2OT at worlds
The Australian Under 17 Men's team have survived a 2)T scare against Egypt at the world titles.
The Australia Under 17 Men’s basketball team has held on to second position in Group A of the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championships with a thrilling win over Egypt in double overtime 88-73 today in Kaunus, Lithuania.
For the Aussies, Dante Exum continues his stellar tournament finishing with 23 points, while Mirko Djeric added 22. Ben Simmons also added 13 points, 14 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Australia opened up well against the big and athletic Egyptians, who were highly motivated to get their first win of the Tournament.
Despite their winless record, Egypt had run the USA close for two quarters and had actually led going into half time the previous day.
While Australia were committing turnovers the Egyptians were knocking in shots and had surged to half time lead 35-30.
The Aussies fought back and regained the lead by the end of the third period and began to look comfortable. Their opponents however were not done and with some exciting three-point shooting forced the game into overtime.
Again the Aussies gained ascendency through inspiring play by Simmons and Djeric. With little time left Djeric hit a clutch three-pointer to tie the game but shortly after missed two foul shot to win it.
The game went to a second overtime but the Aussies stormed home and put the game out of reach for the Egyptians.
Head Coach Guy Molloy commented that the result was fantastic in that it achieved the prized 1-2 position in Pool A. While there is still a preliminary game to go against France Australia is in the box seat. He praised his players’ persistence and the way they fought out a tough encounter against the champions of Africa.
Australia now meet France on Wednesday to complete the preliminary rounds and then look forward to a rest day before moving into the quarterfinals. Their second stage opponent is still unknown in the very competitive Group B.
Australia 88 (Exum 23, Djeric 22, Simmons 13, Von Hofe 13) defeated Egypt 73 (2OT)
Period 1 24-16
Half time 30-35
Period 3 52-48
Full time 63-63
OT1 70-70
OT2 88-73
