Aussie junior team wins basketball bronze

Shyla Heal, the daughter Australian basketball great Shane Heal, has led the Sapphires to a bronze medal at the U-17 Women's World Cup.

Shyla Heal rekindled memories of her famous father as she helped propel Australia to a bronze medal at the U-17 Women's Basketball World Cup in Belarus.

With the Sapphires trailing by eight points midway through the final quarter, Heal - daughter of champion Australian point guard Shane - scored 12 of her team-high 16 points to inspire a 57-51 comeback victory.

"I knew we were down and knew my team needed help and my team looks for me to step up in big moments so I thought 'it's my time; let's go'," Heal told fiba.basketball.

Lily Scanlon added 11 points for the Australians while 15-year-old guard Jade Melbourne - the youngest member of the team - provided a second-half spark off the bench.

"It feels kind of surreal," Heal said.

"You always dream about it as a kid - you train every day in the lead up.

"So to come third in the world out of so many countries is amazing."

Heal was the only Australian named in the tournament All-Star Five, which featured Americans Jordan Horston - the tournament MVP, Haley Jones and Aliyah Boston as well as France's Iliana Rupert.

The Sapphires, winners of the 2016 tournament, were relegated to the bronze medal match after they ceded a 15-point half-time lead in their 68-58 semi-final loss to France.

"We felt we should definitely have been in the final but we had a tough loss yesterday so we thought we'd bring it back for Australia and fight our hearts out today," Heal said.

United States thrashed the French 92-40 in the final to claim gold, with five Americans scoring in double figures.


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Source: AAP



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