Canada nets gold at men’s under-19 World Cup

One-time Saint Francis Phoenix Agu Kigab finishes tournament fifth in scoring

Abu Kigab was a key contributor on the court Sunday when Canada made basketball history.

Kigab, who played high school hoops at Saint Francis in St. Catharines, recorded a doubledouble as Canada defeated Italy 79-60 for the gold medal at the FIBA Under-19 Men’s Basketball World Cup in Egypt.

The 6-foot-6 forward, who has committed to play at the University of Oregon at the collegiate level, scored 12 points and came down with 10 rebounds.

R.J. Barrett of Mississauga led Canada, and all players, in Sunday night’s final in Cairo with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Nate Darling of Sackville, N.S., and Lindell Wigginton of Halifax also scored in double digits for Canada netting 12 and 11 points, respectively.

With the win, Canada wrapped up the 16-team tournament with a 6-1 record.

The gold was Canada’s firstever medal at the men’s under19 championships.

In Saturday’s semifinal round, Barrett scored 38 points, Kigab 14 and Darling 13 as Canada dethroned the reigning champion U.S. 99-87.

The setback snapped a 23-game winning streak for the U.S.

Before defeating Angola 87-65 in Round of 16 and bouncing previously undefeated France to the sidelines with a 73-67 in the quarter-finals, the Canadians went 2-1 in pool play — Mali, 91-42; Spain, 73-78; Japan, 10075.

Barrett was the tournament’s top scorer averaging 21.6 points per game, while Kigab was fifth with 14.7 points per game.

Kigab’s 10.6 rebounds per game was tops for Canada and sixth in tournament.

Angola’s Silvio Sousa was the tournament’s top rebounder with an average of 13.1 per game.

The Americas qualifier for the 2018 men’s under-19 World Cup will be played June 10-16 at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines.