Inside The Huskies

U19 World Cup Title Game Brings Husky Freshmen Together as Opponents

JJ Mandaquit and Hannes Steinbach will face off in Switzerland before playing together in Montlake.

Dan Raley

JJ Mandaquit and family at the World Cup.
JJ Mandaquit and family at the World Cup. / UW

The championship game of the U19 FIBA World Cup has turned into the Husky Invitational.

Did anyone think this would happen any other way?

University of Washington incoming freshmen JJ Mandaquit and Hannes Steinbach will find themselves on opposite sides on Sunday when their respective United States and German basketball teams square off in Lausanne, Switzerland. Tipoff is at 11 a.m. PT.

Both teams advanced by going unbeaten in six games.

While Steinbach has been one of the World Cup's standout performers, averaging 17.1 points and 14 rebounds an outing with four double-doubles, Mandaquit has been at his playmaking best averaging 5.6 assists per game, with four games of 7 assists each.

Mandaquit plays for a powerhouse American team that has had just one close game -- a 108-102 victory over Canada -- and won its six outings by 40 points per game on the average.

While Steinbach has put up big numbers nearly every time out, Mandaquit makes sure the ball moves around rather than look for his shot.

"He's more interested in his teammates' success," UW coach Danny Sprinkle said. "That's why he's on team USA."

Hannes Steinbach, center, has been prolific at the U19 FIBA World Cup in Switzerland.
Hannes Steinbach, center, has been prolific at the U19 FIBA World Cup in Switzerland. / UW

The point guard has averaged 6.5 points per game, scoring no more than 8 points in any one performance.

Mamdaquit has taken just 23 shots, and connected on 9 of them. He's hit on just 3 of 9 3-point field goals.

Once these two are done in Europe, they'll head for Seattle where Sprinkle has assembled an impressive collection of talent. Mandaquit and Steinbach each will be strongly considered for starting roles.

Yet on Sunday, they'll try to beat each other.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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