Australia's Under 17 basketballers have finished with silver medals in the World Championship, going down to the USA 99-92 in the final in Dubai.
The young Australians threw everything at the undefeated Americans, clawing back a double-digit deficit on several occasions and cutting the lead to just five points inside the final minute.
Late free throws converted by the USA ensured they would take the title but not without the Australians giving them their biggest scare of the tournament.
Junior Boomers Isaac Humphries and Dejan Vasiljevic were named in the All-Star Five.
Humphries created headlines when he dropped a tournament-record 41 points (along with 19 rebounds and five blocks) against Canada in the group stage, going on to average 18.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks in seven games.
Capping off his tournament with a 29-point outing in the gold medal game, Vasiljevic was one of the best scorers of the championship and the premier rebounding guard, averaging 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.9 three-pointers per game.
An upset looked on the cards in the opening quarter as the Australians raced to a 17-7 lead, with the Americans struggling to find their rhythm.
The defending champions began to work their way back into the game late in the quarter, taking a 28-27 lead courtesy of a buzzer-beating shot from Tyus Battle.
Foul trouble sent Humphries to the bench early in the second quarter as the USA utilised their size and athletic advantage inside to stretch the lead to seven points at half time.
Vasiljevic and Tom Wilson (23 points, six rebounds and seven assists) kept the Australians in the contest, during a third quarter in which the USA constantly threatened to blow the game open, posting 16 of the team's 21 points for the quarter.
In the final term, Wilson and Vasiljevic carried the team through stretches where the USA looked certain to close out the contest.
It was the second runners-up performance by an Australian team after a similar result in the 2012 decider.
