USA have won their third straight FIBA under-17 world championship gold medal by beating Australia 99-92 in Dubai.

When you look at the tournament on the whole, this was the only real outcome. Australia were the only real challengers and it was the final that many expected. USA though were head and shoulders above the rest.

Malik Newman led USA’s scoring with 21 points. He also pulled 11 rebounds as the promising 97-born guard won the world championship MVP.  Jayson Tatum added 15 for the winners.

Dejan Vasiljevic knocked down six three-pointers in scoring a game-high 29 points for Australia, whose key player Isaac Humphries was hampered with foul trouble and was held to just 10 points.

Despite the defeat, the Aussies started by far the brighter. The game was tied in the early stages at 7-7, when a 10-0 run gave the Australians a 17-7 lead. The USA answered back with a 21-10 spell to lead 28-27 after one.

From there, the U.S. maintained their advantage despite a late charge from the Aussies, who narrowed the gap to five late on. The Americans iced the game from the line to take the honours again.

The All-Tournament team was dominated by the Americans and the Aussies. Newman, along with USA team-mate Diamond Stone were named, along with Australia’s Isaac Humphries, Dejan Vasiljevic and Serbia’s Nikola Rakicevic.

Earlier, Serbia captured the bronze medal by edging Spain 62-59.