By JOSH NEWMAN
As expected, the United States Under-19 National Team is rolling through the FIBA World Championship in Greece.
Argentina became the Americans’ latest victim on Wednesday morning as Class of 2016 star Harry Giles scored 17 points to go along with 12 rebounds in a 93-45 win in the Round of 16 at Heraklion Arena.
With the victory, the U.S. (4-0) advances to play Friday in the medal round quarterfinal versus 3-1 Italy (11:15 a.m. EDT and televised by ESPNU at 1:30 p.m. EDT). Italy beat the Dominican Republic, 82-72.
“I felt great; I tried to pick up the tempo,” Giles said. “It started on the defensive end, just blocking shots and rebounding, and I tried to use that to help me get going offensively and help my team, just help with the energy of the team.
“The focus was just go out there and win because we didn’t want to go home. We didn’t travel this far to lose. I just went out there and played hard, and played the way USA should.”
The 6-foot-10 Giles is having himself quite a tournament.
Harry Giles’ per-40 #s coming off bench for @usabasketball: 26.9 points, 16.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.6 steals, 3.3 blocks. 37 PER #FIBAU19
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) July 1, 2015
Jayson Tatum, another 2016 standout, added 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting, while Arizona freshman Alonzo Trier had 13 on 5-for-7 shooting.
The U19s are coached by Trier’s future Wildcats head coach, Sean Miller.
Following a slow first quarter to open the tournament on Saturday against Iran, the United States has rolled, winning their four games by an average of 35.5 points per contest.
The United States will square off against Italy on Friday morning in the quarterfinals at a time that has not yet been announced. These World Championships are expected to culminate in a gold-medal game between the United States and Canada, which features UNLV freshman Jaylen Poyser, Oregon sophomore Dillon Brooks and another UNLV commit in 2016 star Justin Jackson.
The Canadians were 100-64 winners over Korea in the round of 16 on Wednesday morning. Jackson went for a game-high 20 points in the win, while Brooks finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
Follow Josh Newman on Twitter
