USA U16 National Team Wins 2009 FIBA Americas Championship

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Via http://www.basketballfollowers.com

The USA Basketball Men’s U16 National Team defeated host Argentina, 101-87, to win the inaugural 2009 FIBA Americas U16 Championship on Sunday.





Brad Beal had a game-high 26 points to lead the U.S. team (5-0) to the gold medal. Beal shot 7-for-14 from behind the three-point arc.





Quinn Cook added 22 points, while James McAdoo scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Johnny O’Bryant had 10 boards and eight points and Adonis Thomas nabbed 10 rebounds to go with six points.





Canada (3-2) defeated Venezuela (2-3), 106-81, to earn the bronze medal. With the Bronze, Canada captured FIBA Americas’ third and final berth in the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship, which will be held next July in Hamburg, Germany.





The USA outrebounded Argentina 57-26.





Luciano Massarelli scored a team-high 18 points and three steals off the bench for the silver medalists (4-1). Tomas Zanzotera scored 17 points and nabbed three steals, while Federico Herrera added 12 points.





Overall, the USA team blazed through their opponents, averaging 113 points per game and winning by a tournament-best 33.8 point margin of victory. The team is consisted of some of the nation's top incoming high school sophomore and junior basketball players.





They defeated Brazil 110-82; Venezuela 102-76; and Puerto Rico 126-73 in their pool play. They faced Canada in the semifinals, winning 126-78, before playing Argentina in the title game.





Michael Carey (Bahamas) led the tournament in scoring with 21.8 points per game, while three Americans were ranked in the top 10: Beal (19.0), McAdoo (16.8), and Cook (15.6). Cook led the tournament in assists with 5.0.





Michael Carrera Camboa (Venezuela) led the tournament with 15.8 rebounds, followed by Wanaah Ans Bail (Bahamas) with 14.2 and Carey with 10.2. O’Bryant averaged 9.8 and McAdoo averaged 8.6.