The United States extended its unprecedented dominance at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup by defeating Serbia 107-81 in Sunday’s championship game in Istanbul, capturing a record eighth consecutive title and remaining undefeated in tournament history.
Playing before a crowd of 3,544 at the Basketball Development Center, the Americans pulled away with a dominant second half to finish the tournament with another perfect campaign. Since the event debuted in 2010, Team USA has won every edition, compiling an extraordinary 58-0 all-time record.
Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje delivered another outstanding performance in the title game, finishing with 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots. Clarence Rosser Jr. provided a game-high 23 points, while point guard Beckham Black orchestrated the offense with 12 points, 10 assists and three steals.
Boumtje Boumtje capped his remarkable tournament by earning the Most Valuable Player award. The versatile forward averaged 19.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, 2.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game, emerging as the centerpiece of a balanced American squad that overwhelmed opponents with its depth, athleticism and defensive pressure throughout the competition.
Black also received All-Star Five honors after averaging 12.3 points, 8.3 assists and 3.0 steals per game. He was joined on the tournament’s top team by Serbia’s Nikola Kusturica, Australia’s Luke Paul and Türkiye’s Omer Kutluay.
Although Serbia fell short in the final, the tournament marked a historic breakthrough for the program. The Serbians reached their first-ever U17 World Cup final and secured their second podium finish after placing third in 2014.
Kusturica nearly carried Serbia into contention with a spectacular offensive display, scoring a FIBA U17 World Cup Final-record 37 points. His outstanding tournament also earned him the Best Defensive Player award despite the championship defeat.
Serbia coach Stevan Mijovic was recognized as the tournament’s Best Coach after guiding his team to its best finish in event history.
Australia claimed the bronze medal by defeating host nation Türkiye 77-69 in the third-place game. Luke Paul came close to recording a triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while William Hamilton contributed 16 points. Türkiye was led once again by Kutluay, who finished with 32 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Australia’s third-place finish added another medal to the nation’s growing U17 résumé after silver-medal performances in 2012 and 2014.
The tournament’s All-Second Team featured France’s Nathan Soliman, Türkiye’s Darius Karutasu, Serbia’s Matija Lukic, Puerto Rico’s DJ Gaines and USA’s Clarence Rosser Jr.
France finished fifth in the final standings, followed by Canada, Lithuania and Puerto Rico. Slovenia, China, Côte d’Ivoire, New Zealand, Italy, Japan, Venezuela and Cameroon rounded out the 16-team field.
The 2026 tournament began with 16 nations competing across four groups before every team advanced to the Round of 16 under the competition’s knockout format. Once again, however, the championship belonged to the United States, which continued a remarkable streak that has defined the event since its inaugural edition and reinforced its status as the global standard in youth basketball.
