ALLAN THE MAN

The Team United States withstood a stiff challenge by Australia to prevail 99-92 in Saturday's Final and capture the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship - their third straight crown in the tournament.

In a repeat of the 2012 U17 Worlds Final, Malik Newman paced the Americans with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Jayson Tatum had 15 points and both Harry Giles and Josh Jackson scored 13 points.

Dejan Vasiljevic knocked down six three-pointers in scoring 29 points while Tom Wilson had 23 points and Isaac Humphries was saddled with foul trouble throughout the game and was held to 10 points and seven rebounds. 

The Philippine national youth basketball team ended its long search for an elusive victory in the FIBA Under-17 World Basketball Championship after steamrolling host United Arab Emirates, 115-51, to finish its campaign on Saturday in Dubai.

Paul Desiderio scored 25 points to lead Batang Gilas as they notched their first triumph in seven tries for a 15th-place finish out of the 16 participating teams in the tournament.

Batang Gilas dominated the game from start to finish, building a cushion as large as 68 points as they avoided returning home without bagging a victory in the tournament.

WATCH BATANG GILAS vs UAE FULL REPLAY VIDEO BELOW:

Gilas Pilipinas' Japeth Aguilar Dunks on France & Indiana Pacers' Ian Mahinmi on their friendly tune-up game. WATCH VIDEO BELOW:

The Philippine national men's basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas, served notice ahead of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup after dropping a hard-fought 75-68 result to European champion France in Antibes on Friday (Saturday PHL time).

Apart from playing on home soil, the French team is bannered by Boris Diaw, Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, Ian Mahinmi, and Nando De Colo among others with NBA experience.

WATCH Gilas Pilipinas vs France Tune Up Game REPLAY VIDEO Below:

Take a look at a compilation of the best crossovers of the 2013-2014 NBA season! Which one is your favorite?

For the Philippine national basketball team (Gilas Pilipinas),  it’s home away from home in Spain where Gilas will play at the FIBA World Cup starting Aug. 30 after a 36-year absence from the global stage. The estimate is about 5,000 Filipinos will storm the stands at the 7,000-seat Palacio Municipal de Deportes San Pablo in Seville for the Group B round-robin competition involving Croatia, Greece, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Senegal and the Philippines.

Philippine Ambassador to Spain Carlos Salinas said some 40,000 to 50,000 Filipinos live in Spain and he plans to mobilize the residents to cheer for Gilas in Seville. If the Philippines finishes in the top four of Group B, Gilas will advance to the next round in Madrid.

Gilas Pilipinas forward Marc Pingris said he is not intimidated by France’ imposing size nor by its lineup of NBA stars, pointing out that basketball is not played man for man but is a five-man game. 

“Laro lang, di naman ako mag-isa maglalaro. Lima kami, so usap na lang sa depensa sa loob,” Pingris told Spin ahead of Gilas' match against France kicking off of the 2014 Antibes International Basketball Tournament on Friday (Saturday Manila time) at the Azur Arena in Antibes, France.