For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.
In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like NZX (NZSE:NZX), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While profit isn’t the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it’s worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.
We’ve found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.
Generally, companies experiencing growth in earnings per share (EPS) should see similar trends in share price. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. NZX managed to grow EPS by 13% per year, over three years. That’s a good rate of growth, if it can be sustained.
Top-line growth is a great indicator that growth is sustainable, and combined with a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin, it’s a great way for a company to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. The good news is that NZX is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 3.4 percentage points to 25%, over the last year. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in our book.
In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image.
NZSE:NZX Earnings and Revenue History July 5th 2025
See our latest analysis for NZX
Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for NZX.
Insider interest in a company always sparks a bit of intrigue and many investors are on the lookout for companies where insiders are putting their money where their mouth is. That’s because insider buying often indicates that those closest to the company have confidence that the share price will perform well. However, insiders are sometimes wrong, and we don’t know the exact thinking behind their acquisitions.
In the last twelve months NZX insiders spent NZ$48k on stock; good news for shareholders. This might not be a huge sum, but it’s well worth noting anyway, given the complete lack of selling.
The good news, alongside the insider buying, for NZX bulls is that insiders (collectively) have a meaningful investment in the stock. As a matter of fact, their holding is valued at NZ$38m. This considerable investment should help drive long-term value in the business. As a percentage, this totals to 7.7% of the shares on issue for the business, an appreciable amount considering the market cap.
As previously touched on, NZX is a growing business, which is encouraging. In addition, insiders have been busy adding to their sizeable holdings in the company. These factors alone make the company an interesting prospect for your watchlist, as well as continuing research. You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we’ve spotted 1 warning sign for NZX you should be aware of.
Keen growth investors love to see insider activity. Thankfully, NZX isn’t the only one. You can see a a curated list of New Zealander companies which have exhibited consistent growth accompanied by high insider ownership.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
All it can take is a phone call. That’s what Qantas learned this week when the personal information of up to 6 million customers was stolen by cybercriminals after attackers targeted an offshore IT call centre, enabling them to access a third-party system.
It is the latest in a series of cyber-attacks on large companies in Australia involving the personal information of millions of Australians, after the attack on Optus, Medibank and, most recently, Australia’s $4t superannuation sector.
The Qantas attack came just days after US authorities warned the airline sector had been targeted by a group known as Scattered Spider, using social engineering techniques, including impersonating employees or contractors to deceive IT help desks into granting access, and bypassing multi-factor authentication.
New technology brings old methods
While companies may spend millions keeping their systems secure and software up-to-date to plug known vulnerabilities, hackers can turn to this form of attack to target, often, the weakest link – humans.
Social engineering is not new. It predates the internet, involving tricking someone into providing compromising information.
The most common way people would see social engineering in practice is through phishing attacks – emails that are designed to look official to lure unsuspecting people into providing their login and passwords.
The phone-call version of social engineering, known as vishing, can be more complicated for the attacker, requiring research into a company and its employees, and tactics to sound convincing over the phone to get the unwitting worker to let them in.
The arrival of easy-to-use artificial intelligence products, including voice cloning, will only make this easier for attackers.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s most recent data breaches report, covering the second half of 2024, noted a significant rise in reports of breaches caused by social engineering attacks, with government agencies reporting the most, followed by finance and health.
The Qantas breach – that compromised information including names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth and frequent flyer numbers – in isolation might not in isolation lead to financial loss, but the growing number of data breaches in Australia means hackers are able to collate data collected across the breaches and potentially launch attacks on unsuspecting new targets.
Data breaches causing more data breaches
In April, the nation’s superannuation funds became aware of the dangers of hackers collecting compromised login details from other breaches to gain access to super accounts, in what is termed credential stuffing.
The industry was fortunate only a handful of customers suffered losses, together approximately $500,000 – likely a combination of the funds locking down systems, and the high proportion of fund holders who have yet to reach the age where they can access their super.
The Albanese government, however, has been warned that the attack was a canary in the coalmine for the financial sector. In advice to the incoming government in May – released this week under freedom of information laws – the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (Apra) warned super assets were at risk.
“Cyber-attacks at large superannuation funds, that look likely to increase in scope and frequency, highlight that capability in the management of cyber and operational risks must improve,” Apra said.
“While the number of member accounts that had funds fraudulently withdrawn was small, the incident highlighted the need for this sector to uplift its cybersecurity and operational resilience maturity.
“This need will only grow as the sector increases in size, more members enter retirement and the sector takes on greater systemic significance with inter-linkages to the banking sector.”
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Apra had warned the sector in 2023 of the importance of multi-factor authentication – something some of the funds had failed to implement before the April attack.
The regulator said there were also sustained cyber-attacks on banking and insurance businesses, and third-party providers that were “continuing to test resilience and defences as attackers develop new technologies and approaches”.
Who is most at risk?
Healthcare, finance, technology and critical infrastructure, such as telecommunications, were most at risk from cyber threats, according to Craig Searle, global leader of cyber advisory at global cybersecurity firm Trustwave.
“The technology sector is uniquely exposed due to its central role in digital infrastructure and interconnected supply chains,” he said. “An attack on a single tech provider can cascade to hundreds or thousands of downstream clients, as seen in recent high-profile supply chain breaches.
“Overall, the sectors most at risk are those with high-value data, complex supply chains, and critical service delivery.”
Searle said attackers like Scattered Spider deliberately targeted third-party systems and outsourced IT support, as seen in the Qantas breach, representing a risk for large companies.
“The interconnected nature of digital supply chains means a vulnerability or misconfiguration in a partner or contractor can trigger a domino effect, exposing sensitive data and operations far beyond the initial breach,” he said.
Christiaan Beek, senior director for threat analytics at cybersecurity firm Rapid7, said third-party systems had become an integral part of many organisations’ business operations and, as a result, were increasingly targeted by threat actors.
“It’s essential for organisations to apply the right levels of due diligence in assessing the security posture of such third-party systems to reduce the risk of their information being compromised.”
Searle said organisations needed to shift from reactive to proactive cybersecurity, apply software patches promptly and enforce strong access control such as multi-factor authentication.
Beek agreed organisations needed to be proactive, with executives held accountable for cybersecurity in their organisations, as well as board oversight.
“The novel tactics observed by modern-day cybercrime groups escape the typical confines of security management programmes,” he said. “The no-limits approach of these criminals pushes us to rethink the typical boundary of defence, in particular surrounding social engineering and the ways in which we can be taken advantage of.”
Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.
Need some answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition? Sitting here in Seattle, I was proud to nail the yellow category immediately (I might have had to move if I didn’t get it right.) The green category wasn’t too tough, but the others were more difficult. Read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: The bluest skies you’ll ever see…
Green group hint: And now it’s pouring.
Blue group hint: Empire State hoops.
Purple group hint: QB’s CV.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Seattle teams.
Green group: Seen during a baseball rain delay.
Blue group: Members of the New York Liberty.
Purple group: Teams Baker Mayfield has played for.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is Seattle teams. The four answers are Kraken, Mariners, Reign and Seahawks.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is seen during a baseball rain delay. The four answers are grounds crew, lightning, ponchos and tarp.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is members of the New York Liberty. The four answers are Cloud, Ionescu, Jones and Stewart.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is teams Baker Mayfield has played for. The four answers are Browns, Buccaneers, Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year.
As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:
iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display
iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch display
Given the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and longer battery life. Nothing new.
It has been rumored that the Pro Max model will go one step further this year, though.
In March, it was rumored that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will be approximately 5% thicker than the iPhone 16 Pro Max, likely in order to accommodate a larger battery. This would result in the iPhone 17 Pro Max having even longer battery life compared to the iPhone 17 Pro, which is not expected to be any thicker than the iPhone 16 Pro.
It was recently rumored that the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s battery capacity will reach the 5,000 mAh mark, up from 4,676 mAh for the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
The thickness rumor originated from Ice Universe, an account with more than 1.5 million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The account has previously shared accurate information about future Apple products.
In some years, the Pro Max gets some camera features before the Pro, but that is not expected to be the case this year. Both the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to be equipped with a trio of 48-megapixel rear cameras, along with an upgraded 24-megapixel front camera. No camera differences have been rumored yet.
It was initially rumored that the iPhone 17 Pro Max might have a smaller Dynamic Island compared to the iPhone 17 Pro and earlier models, but it was later reported that such a change might not be happening until next year. Even if it does happen this year, one source said the smaller Dynamic Island would be on all iPhone 17 models.
All in all, the iPhone 17 Pro Max might be pretty similar to the iPhone 17 Pro, beyond its larger screen and even bigger lead in battery life.
SANTIAGO (Chile) – Colombia will play in the Qualifying Tournaments for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 after defeating the Dominican Republic 81-53 in the first classification game of the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2025. With the win, the South Americans guaranteed at least a sixth-place finish in the tournament held in Santiago, Chile.
From the second quarter onward, Colombia paved the way for victory with high defensive intensity and solid shooting efficiency. The team will now play for fifth place against the winner of the Mexico vs. Puerto Rico matchup.
Turning point
The Colombian side put together a 16-0 run at the start of the second quarter to take a 19-point lead (36-17), and from there, it was smooth sailing. Head coach Luis Cuenca was able to rotate his lineup and give play time to 11 of the 12 players on the roster.
TCL player of the game
Center Yuliany Paz was the standout performer, recording a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. The Indeportes Antioquia player from the Colombian league shot 50 percent from the field and added four blocks. With that, she tied Miranda Ayim (Canada) as the all-time blocks leader in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup (since 2003), with 32, pending Kamilla Cardoso’s (Brazil) performance later in the day, as she sits at 30.
It was Paz’s first career double-double in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup, setting new personal highs for both points and rebounds. Her previous bests were 12 points and 11 boards.
For the Dominican Republic, Cesarina Capellán stood out with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Stats don’t lie
Colombia outrebounded the Dominicans 56-49 (a new team record for the Colombians in an AmeriCup game), dished out more assists (23-8), and delivered an all-around solid performance, shooting 41 percent from the field compared to just 26 percent for their opponents.
Bottom line
Colombia will head to the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournaments, aiming to qualify for the second time in its history. The only previous appearance came in 1975 when the country hosted the event.
With one more win in the classification stage, Colombia would match the fifth-place finish achieved in the last three editions of the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup.
They said
Yuliany Paz emphasized that the team came in focused and determined to keep their World Cup dream alive.
“We knew this was a very important game for us because playing in a World Cup would be a dream. Today, the team needed my points and my rebounds, and everything worked out well,” said the center at the postgame press conference.
When astronauts go to space, there’s no doctors to care for them if they get sick.
That’s why astronauts are given significant first aid training, with an astronaut sustaining an injury able to receive sutures, for example, from one of their colleagues in space.
It’s also the reason for the extreme cleanliness that is enforced on space stations, with astronauts expected to adhere to strict cleaning and hygiene protocols, to avoid any risk of contamination or infection while they’re situated 250 miles above ground.
If the worst should come to the worst, a rescue mission is launched; but this to be avoided, since it’s a very costly process.
Pexels
It’s surprising then, given the extreme hygiene observed on space stations, that a new strain of bacteria has been identified on board China’s Tiangong Space Station.
And what is even more surprising is that this bacterial strain has only ever been discovered onboard Tiangong.
In an article recently published in the International Journal of Systematic Evolutionary Microbiology, scientists explain their discovery:
“In this study, a Gram-positive, aerobic, spore-forming, rod-shaped strain JL1B1071T was isolated from the surface of hardware on the China Space Station. This strain belongs to the genus Niallia, with its closest relative being Niallia circulans ATCC 4513T.”
Freshly named Niallia Tiangongensis, this bacteria is not dissimilar to an earthly bacteria known as Nialla circulans, a human pathogen which can survive without oxygen and is found in sewage and human waste, food and soil.
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How did the pathogen get there?
Well this is still up for debate, with scientists suggesting that it could have adapted from Niallia circulans that naturally occur onboard Tiangong as a result of the human activities of the taikonauts (Chinese astronauts) on board the space station.
This is not uncommon practice for pathogens, which regularly mutate as a result of their evolutionary processes. In the conditions on board a space station – very different to the conditions on Earth – the pathogen could have adapted to better suit its new environment.
While on the surface the discovery of Niallia Tiangonensis could seem concerning, it is actually fascinating for our understanding of bacteria and its evolutions in space. This is vital information for future missions, and our understanding of our pathogens on Earth – though of course, as the authors state in their study, the prominent concern is the health of astronauts and taikonauts:
“Understanding the characteristics of microbes during long-term space missions is essential for safeguarding the health of astronauts and maintaining the functionality of spacecraft.”
As more people – and their respective pathogens – travel to space, it is likely that this is only the beginning.
If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read a story that reveals Earth’s priciest precious metal isn’t gold or platinum and costs over $10,000 an ounce!
Categories: NATURE/SPACE, SCI/TECH Tags: · astronauts, bacteria, evolution, new bacterial strain, pathogens, science, single topic, space, space station, space travel, taikonauts, Tiangong space station, top
Alex Palou reminded the rest of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field that Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is his personal playground, leading pre-qualifying practice Saturday for The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport.
Championship leader Palou, the winner of six of the first nine races this season, topped the one-hour session with a best lap of 1 minute, 5.3961 seconds in the No. 10 Open AI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou has finished on the podium in each of his last four starts at the 13-turn, 2.258-mile roller coaster of a road course, including a victory in 2023.
SEE: Practice Results
Palou will aim for his second straight Mid-Ohio pole and third pole this season in NTT P1 Award qualifying, which starts at 2:30 p.m. ET today (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). The 90-lap race starts at 1 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Christian Lundgaard was second in practice today at 1:05.5529 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, followed by rookie Louis Foster at 1:05.5962 in the No. 45 Droplight Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Reigning Mid-Ohio winner Pato O’Ward put two Arrow McLaren cars in the top four with his best lap of 1:05.7280 in the team’s No. 5 Chevrolet. Felix Rosenqvist rallied from a mechanical problem in the first practice Friday to climb to fifth in this session at 1:05.7945 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian that features this weekend a special tribute livery to famed hard rock singer Ozzy Osbourne and his band Black Sabbath.
Kyle Kirkwood, quickest Friday at 1:05.8272, ended up ninth today at 1:05.9352 in the No. 27 Andretti Global Honda featuring a special Honda livery this weekend.
Once again, the tricky, undulating Mid-Ohio circuit caught out a handful of drivers, especially in Turn 4.
Past Mid-Ohio winners Colton Herta and Scott McLaughlin had off-course excursions through the gravel trap in Turn 4, as did Kyffin Simpson. Nolan Siegel also nearly had a big crash in Turn 5 as his No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet wiggled on his final lap.
Even Palou wasn’t immune to testing the limits of grip. He drove through the grass in Turn 11 on the lap immediately after his quickest trip around the track.
The only red flag of the session came when 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson nosed into the tire barrier in Turn 13 in his No. 28 FOX INDYCAR Honda of Andretti Global, damaging its front wing and suspension. Ericsson, who was fourth quickest at the time of his crash, was unhurt.
LAUSANNE (Switzerland) – The pairings and schedule for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 Final and bronze-medal game have been confirmed following the Semi-Finals games in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Let us know what you think and vote:
Who will be named FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 TISSOT MVP?
Final and Third-Place Game
New Zealand and Slovenia will face off in the third-place game, while USA and Germany clash in the final — both games set for Sunday, July 6 at Lausanne Arena.
July 6
New Zealand and Slovenia will look to finish their FIBA U19 World Cup on a high note and take home some hardware in the Third-Place Game. Neither team has ever reached the podium of this event.
New Zealand will be looking to bounce back from their loss to United States in their first Semi-Finals while Slovenia fell to Germany in their first top four showing.
The matchup so many were expecting is here after both teams remained undefeated in the tournament – USA beating New Zealand in the Semi-Finals and Germany knocking off Slovenia to advance to their first FIBA U19 World Cup Final.
USA will be looking to add a record ninth title, while Germany have already secured their first Youth World Cup podium — even before knowing which step they’ll stand on.
The complete FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 Final Phrase bracket can be found here.
While it was Pérez who came out on top of the Tarmac-based season-opener in Spain, Carlberg tops the order heading into Sunday’s leg of the second sealed-surface round of the Junior ERC season.
After Tuukka Kauppinen set the pace in the Hankook-equipped category through the Friday evening super special stage in Rome aboard his Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF, Carlberg went on a Saturday morning charge. The Opel Corsa Rally4 driver completed the opening loop leading Pérez by 11.3sec after the championship-topping Swede went quickest on all three stages.
“It was hot like expected but really good, I’ve been really happy about the first loop,” Carlberg said at the midday halt in Fiuggi. “We played the strategy quite well with the tyres, the pacenotes have been good and Jørgen [Eriksen, co-driver] has been doing a good job. The Hankook tyres really kept up and were really good across the stages.”
Carlberg was quickest again on SS5 but lost vital seconds on SS6 when he was slowed by a driver running ahead on the road encountering mechanical issues.
“We did what we could but unfortunately we caught a Rally3 car on stage six,” Carlberg explained. “Normally you don’t struggle with the dust on a Tarmac rally but in the forest with all the cuts it felt like a gravel rally and we struggled to see and lost quite a bit of time. We took that as motivation to put in a good time on the last one and we’re still in the lead.”
“Normally you don’t struggle with the dust on a Tarmac rally but in the forest with all the cuts it felt like a gravel rally and we struggled to see and lost quite a bit of time.”
Pérez, driving a Peugeot 208 Rally4, reckoned he could have been closer to Carlberg had it not been for a brief off on SS4. “Calle is pushing hard, but on SS4 I had a little problem when I went off the road and lost a little bit [of time]. The corner, a left corner, was so dirty and in the exit I go on the throttle too early and go out of the road. Tomorrow we have two long stages and of course we will try to the end.”
Lancia-driving Jaspar Vaher was third after four stages but slipped to fourth behind Craig Rahill (Peugeot) on SS6 when he spun. He lost more time when he completed SS7 with the left-rear wheel missing from his car following an off into a ditch.
“I was probably pushing too much but near there end there was much gravel, the corner tightened, we ran wide into the ditch and in the ditch there was some concrete that we hit with the rim and the rim broke,” Vaher said. “On the second to last stage we had a spin on a right corner towards the end. It was quite strange because I’ve never had a spin in a front-wheel-drive car. We lost too much time, it was not easy.”
There were no such problems for Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Rahill, who is in the podium battle for the second event running. “It’s been tough but I’m happy enough,” he said. “We need to keep it steady but it’s a new experience trying to manage the tyres and brakes. And I’ve never done stages so long.”
Craig Rahill is perfectly placed for a podium finish on Sunday
Ioan Lloyd is fifth after a brake issue nearing the finish of SS7. ACI Team Italia-supported Francesco Dei Ceci is sixth on his home Junior ERC counter with Swiss rookie Yohan Suroca impressing in seventh place followed by Kauppinen, Keelan Grogan, Leevi Lassila and Aoife Raftery, who was slowed by an overheating issue on SS4.
Making his return from injury, Kavin Saraiva holds 12th place overnight, but it proved to be a frustrating day for Kevin Lempu and Luca Pröglhöf, who both retired. While Lempu is expected to restart on Sunday, Pröglhöf will go no further after he rolled on SS4, albeit without injury to he nor co-driver Christina Ettel.
All Junior ERC drivers are eligible for ERC4 points with the category featuring several competitors from the Trofeo Lancia for the first time. While the top four classification mirrors the Junior ERC order, Gianandrea Pisani holds fifth place with Andrea Mazzocchi and Giorgio Cogni ninth and 11th respectively.
Meanwhile, ERC4 regulars Catherine Rǎdulescu and Ciprian Lupu are 26th and 27th respectively. Rǎdulescu was hampered by an overheating issue while Lupu lost time with an overshoot early on.
Rally di Roma Capitale’s deciding leg tomorrow (Sunday) consists of six stages over a competitive distance of 98.34 kilometres and begins with the 11.58-kilometre Guarcino – Altipiani stage from 08:25 local time.
LAUSANNE (Switzerland) – United States moved one victory from their mission of reclaiming the title by rolling past New Zealand to reach the Final of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 and a date with Germany.
Let us know what you think and vote:
Who will be named FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 TISSOT MVP?
The record eight-time U19 world champions had no trouble with New Zealand, who were making their maiden appearance in the Semi-Finals in the competition. USA ended up winning 120-61 – setting a new scoring record.
The 120 points eclipsed the previous mark for the most scored in a FIBA U19 World Cup Semi-Finals. The Americans beat Lithuania 100-60 in the 2013 Semis and then walloped Lithuania 102-67 in the 2019 Semi-Finals.
Caleb Holt was USA’s leading scorer with 20 points as six USA players hit in double figures, including Mikel Brown tallying 11 points and 6 assists.
United States did not waste any time and built an 18-point lead after the first quarter against New Zealand. The Junior Tall Blacks never could get any kind of rhythm going, trailing 55-26 at halftime. And the second half was mostly one-way traffic for the Americans.
New Zealand still have a chance to make history with a matchup against Slovenia in the Third Place Game. A victory on the final day would mean the Oceania’s best-ever finish in a FIBA competition.
The only team standing in USA’s way now is Germany in the Final.
USA have only played Germany twice at the youth level – both of them in this competition. The first game was an 88-87 overtime victory for Germany in the Semi-Final group stage in 1983. The Americans beat Germany 81-59 in the Quarter-Finals of the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup.
The best photos from the game
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United States have now averaged 115.5 points in the tournament and are on track to become the highest scoring team in FIBA U19 World Cup history. They would also be just fifth team to score at least 100 points per game in the tournament.
The top spot all-time belongs to the legendary Yugoslavia team from 1987, which included the likes of Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja, Vlade Divac and Sasa Djordjevic and poured in 108.9 points per game.
All-time best team scoring averages at the U19 World Cup
