UPDATE: Florida State's Baba Miller helps Team Spain win FIBA U-19 World Cup championship
Baba Miller was pretty quiet for the first three quarters of Sunday’s FIBA U-19 World Cup championship game against France. But once he got going, there was seemingly no stopping the Florida State sophomore.
In just over five minutes — the final minutes of regulation — Miller scored nine points, grabbed three rebounds and recorded an assist and a steal to help Spain rally from a seven-point deficit and force overtime.
Miller, a 6-foot-11 forward, fouled out in overtime, but Spain was able to pull away for a 73-69 victory to claim a historic gold medal. It marked only the second time ever that the Spaniards have won the junior world basketball championship.
When Miller started his late surge, France held a 53-46 lead over the Spaniards. By the end of regulation, the teams were tied at 63-63.
Miller finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
Spain played seven games in the tournament, which was held in Turkey, and finished with a 7-0 record. Miller averaged 9.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists while starting each game.
FIRST REPORT
Florida State sophomore Baba Miller is getting more elite international experience this week as part of Spain’s under-19 national team, which is competing at the FIBA U-19 World Cup in Hungary.
And later today, he’ll have a chance to win a championship.
After thrashing Turkey, 83-51, on Saturday, Miller’s Spanish squad will take on France at 2 p.m. ET today in the tournament finals. France advanced to the finals by knocking off the United States, 89-86.
Spain is looking for just its second world junior championship in men’s basketball. The country’s only previous victory in the event came in 1999.
Earlier in this year’s tournament, Spain recorded an 88-69 victory against France.
Miller, a 6-foot-11 forward who averaged 4.3 points and 3.7 rebounds last season for Florida State after being forced to miss the first half of the season, has been a starter and key contributor for Team Spain throughout the tournament.
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He started in Saturday’s semifinal blowout against Turkey and played 18 minutes, scoring four points with three rebounds and one assist.
Miller played a major role in the Spanish team’s quarterfinal win against Argentina, scoring 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds. He connected on 3 of 5 shots from 3-point range in that game.
In earlier rounds, the FSU sophomore was a main contributor as Spain cruised through several lopsided victories. Here’s a look at his earlier tournament performances:
- 14 points, 3 rebounds against France;
- 9 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists against China;
- 8 points, 6 rebounds against Lebanon;
- 2 points, 6 rebounds against Canada.
For the tournament, Miller is averaging 9.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Miller is shooting 51.2 percent from the field, including an outstanding 78.9 percent (15 of 19) on shots from two-point range. He has hit 7 of 24 attempts (29.2 percent) from three-point range.
Today’s championship game is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. You can watch it on FIBA’s YouTube channel right here:
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