JJ Mandaquit continues to make the grade with USA Basketball.
The former Iolani School standout survived a five-day, 34-player training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo., to be named to the 12-player roster selected for Team USA Men’s Under-17 national team that will compete in the upcoming 2024 FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey.
It marks the second straight summer that Mandaquit, a 6-foot-1 guard, was tapped to represent a youth national basketball team – an exceedingly rare achievement for a player from Hawaii. He played on the U16 team that won gold in the 2023 FIBA Americas championships in Mexico.
Mandaquit said in a message to Spectrum News on Wednesday, "It is a dream come true and a blessing. Making the U16 team last year was my greatest accomplishment as a basketball player. The sense of pride to wear USA across your chest is a feeling I can’t explain, especially coming from Hawaii. This year I was super focused on doing all I could to have the chance to represent our country again.
"Making the team is a great honor but to go to Turkey and bring home a gold medal is the mission. I believe we have the talent to do it and making that come true will be my greatest triumph so far. The opportunity to represent Hawaii and all of my family on the World Cup stage is what fuels me to give everything I got when I step on the court."
The U17 FIBA World Cup will take place June 29 to July 7. Mandaquit will play alongside several familiar faces, including twins Cameron and Cayden Boozer, as eight of the 12 on the roster have prior national team experience.
Mandaquit reportedly shot and defended well during training camp action.
Sharman White, the coach of Pace Academy (Ga.), will coach the team. The U.S. has not dropped a single game in FIBA U17 World Cup competition with a 44-0 record and six championships since the tournament debuted in 2010. Sixteen teams will compete this year, with the U.S. opening up with France in pool play June 29 at 4:30 a.m. Hawaii time.
Mandaquit has consistently pitted himself against elite competition since he left Hawaii following his freshman year at Iolani in 2021-22. He earned accolades as a junior at Utah Prep playing against a national slate of opponents.
Mandaquit, who has a bevy of Division I scholarship offers, has yet to announce his college destination. He told Spectrum News during a visit home last December that he planned to do so before the start of his senior year.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
