Venezuela's U17 basketball team bows out of World Cup after loss to China

Venezuela's journey in the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup has come to an end following a 84-63 defeat against China. The loss marked the final game for the Venezuelan squad, concluding their group stage campaign with an 0-3 record in the tournament hosted in Turkey.

The match started evenly, with both Venezuela and China scoring 23 points in the first quarter. Venezuela managed to edge ahead by a single point at halftime, leading 40-39. However, the momentum shifted dramatically in the second half.

China dominated the third quarter, outscoring Venezuela 24-11, and continued their strong performance in the final period with a 21-12 advantage. Yuxiu Chen led China's scoring with 18 points and seven assists, supported by Yizhaojie Zhang's 15 points and seven rebounds. For Venezuela, Julio Vásquez was the top scorer with 23 points, while Kevin Gutiérrez added 11 points and an equal number of rebounds.

Venezuela struggled with three-point shooting, making only six of 21 attempts for a low 21.4% success rate. Although their defense forced 21 turnovers from China and secured 11 steals, they failed to capitalize on these opportunities in the crucial final minutes. China's bench also proved more effective, contributing 27 points compared to Venezuela's 14.