Coming into the FIBA U19 World Cup 2025 quarter-finals, the United States had dominated Canada at youth events, losing only twice in their previous 31 meetings. Those games often ended in blowouts, making you wonder if the talent gap between these two basketball nations was closing.
This time, Canada looked to flip the script — and they nearly did. Behind a balanced, fearless team effort, Canada went toe-to-toe with a star-studded USA squad loaded with future NBA lottery picks.
In a high-scoring, back-and-forth battle, the Canadians erased a game-high 13-point deficit that once looked like the same old story.
Instead, we got Fourth of July fireworks: ten second-half lead changes, multiple big shots, and a Canadian squad that briefly held a three-point lead early in the fourth quarter before bowing out 108-102.
A big factor? Free throws. The USA shot a whopping 47 from the line — scoring their final 13 points from the stripe to survive Canada’s upset bid.
Playing in his third straight summer for the national team, six-foot point guard Jordan Charles led the way for Canada with 19 points and 5 assists on 7-of-14 shooting. Charles sparked the offence early with nine first-quarter points, helping the team stay close despite defensive lapses that led to early foul trouble.
Six-foot-five guard Adriel Nyorha (Ottawa, Ont.) also came out aggressive, looking for his shot, and added 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in another strong two-way performance.
Down 43-30 midway through the second quarter, a fiery timeout by head coach Ramon Diaz sparked a 16-4 run. Tristan Beckford (16 points) caught fire, drilling two deep threes — including a four-point play — to slice the deficit to one. Jaion Pitt’s interception and half-court heave helped Canada head into halftime down just 61–54.
Canada kept pushing, opening the third quarter with a 9-0 run on three straight triples to take the lead. They stretched it to a game-high four points before the USA stormed back, taking a narrow 79-78 lead into the final frame.
With the upset within reach, the teams traded six lead changes early in the fourth quarter. But the Americans’ relentless drives and foul shots proved too much, retaking the lead for good at 90-89 with 6:58 left.
USA forward AJ Dybantsa, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, led all scorers with 22 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a near-perfect 12-of-13 from the line. Mikel Brown Jr. chipped in 20 points and 8 assists, continuing his stellar play, while Koa Peat was held to seven points but grabbed eleven boards.
Depth was on display for both teams — 22 of the 24 players who hit the court scored at least two points. Canada’s full roster made an impact, highlighted by six-foot-six guard Efeosa Oliogu, who added 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in 23 minutes. The incoming Butler Bulldogs freshman impressed again with his aggressive, downhill attacking style that earned multiple trips to the line.
Canada’s bench outscored the USA’s 49-25, with key contributions from Onyx Nnani, Abdul Aziz Olajuwon, Maxime Meyer, and Matthew Dann.
Inside, Canada won the rebounding battle 47-43 and outscored the USA 44-40 in the paint. But costly fouls (29 called on Canada compared to 19 on the USA) and 17 turnovers that led to 25 fast-break points for Team USA ultimately made the difference.
Sixth-ranked in the latest FIBA youth rankings, Canada earned this matchup by finishing 2–1 in group play, with wins over China (80–72) and Slovenia (82–63) before dropping their final group game to second-ranked Germany (104–88). A strong 100–75 win over Mali in the Round of 16 set up the classic North American showdown.
Canada and the quarter-finals of the FIBA U19 World Cup go hand-in-hand, having now reached the top eight for the seventh straight time. However, the Americas side has only managed two wins at this stage in that stretch — going all the way to the title in 2017 and claiming bronze in 2021.
With this result, Canada now moves into the 5–8 classification round alongside Israel, Australia, and host Switzerland, where they’ll look to close the tournament on a high note and claim fifth place at Lausanne Arena. Their next matchup will be against Switzerland.
