June 30, 2010
SAN ANTONIO --In a game that went down to the wire, the USA Basketball Men's U18 National Team (5-0) fought back to defeat Brazil (4-1) 81-78 and claim the FIBA Americas U18 Championship gold medal on Wednesday night at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas. UW's Abdul Gaddy only played four minutes and was held scoreless. Team USA was led by Kyrie Irving who posted team highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds. The Americans trailed by one at halftime and five after three quarters, the first time all tournament they trailed that late in a game. In the fourth quarter, USA outscored the Brazilian's 23-15 to complete a rally and capture gold. Argentina, Brazil, Canada and the United States qualified for the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship, which will be held in Latvia. Tonight marked the fifth (1990, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010) U18 gold medal for the USA, the last coming in 2006. |
