Utah Prep Standouts Lift Team USA Basketball To Gold At U17 World Cup
Jul 8, 2024, 1:00 AM | Updated: 10:23 am
Utah Prep star AJ Dybantsa helped lead Team USA to a U17 World Cup Gold Medal. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Two Utah Prep basketball players earned a gold medal over the weekend representing Team USA.
AJ Dybantsa and JJ Mandaquit from Utah Prep in Hurricane, Utah, helped Team USA win its seventh consecutive gold medal in the FIBA U17 World Cup.
Team USA defeated Italy in Turkey on Sunday, 129-88.
Congratulations to @ADybantsa and @jjmandaquit23 who came away with the Gold at the FIBA U17 World Cup! Both guys started every game and represented themselves, their families, and their country the right way! pic.twitter.com/wfrs7i2tLH
— Utah Prep Boys Basketball (@UtahPrepMBB) July 7, 2024
Dybantsa, the nation’s number one recruit in the class of 2025, scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field to go along with four rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block in 24 minutes.
Mandaquit, a four-star point guard, had a team-high 10 assists in 19 minutes of action as part of a record-setting 44 assists on 52 made field goals in the win.
Team USA’s leading scorer was five-star forward Koa Peat from Gilbert, Arizona, who scored 26.
Team USA Basketball defeats Italy in U17 World Cup Final
The 129 points scored by Team USA was a U17 World Cup Final record, besting the 111 mark set in 2010.
Team USA finished the U17 World Cup with a perfect 7-0 record. They defeated their opponents by an average of 64 points per game.
AJ Dybantsa was named to the All-Star 5 of the FIBA U17 World Cup. He joined MVP and fellow five-star prospect Cameron Boozer, who scored 24 points against Italy.
Dybantsa and Mandaquit have received offers from in-state programs such as BYU and Utah. Mandaquit has also received an offer from Utah State.
BYU assistant coach Tim Fanning was in Turkey to watch Team USA win the gold medal on Sunday.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
