By ADAM ZAGORIA
The USA, Canada, Argentina and Puerto Rico have qualified for the 2019 FIBA U19 World Championship by virtue of reaching the semifinals of the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in St. Catharines, Ontario.
On Friday, the USA will meet Argentina at 6 p.m. ET in one semifinal, followed by Canada against Puerto Rico at 8:15.
Kentucky-bound guard Tyrese Maxey (ankle) is still very tender and it doesn’t sound like he’ll play against Argentina. He’s a “maybe” for Saturday if the USA makes the final, coach Bill Self told ZAGSBLOG. Maxey injured the ankle in Tuesday’s win over Puerto Rico.
The USA and Canada are the favorites to meet in Saturday’s championship game.
Self and his staff also watched Canada Monday when they beat Ecuador, 115-75.
“I was really impressed,” he said. “They’re really athletic and really fast and they have multiple, multiple high-major guys. They have three or four players who could player anywhere in the country. They’re really athletic and they get the ball down hill. If we get an opportunity to play them, we’ll probably have to play our best game.”At least that figures to be more entertaining for the players — and the coaches.
