HAVANA – There was some cheering for “The Star-Spangled Banner” before USA Basketball’s match in Cuba on Independence Day.
And then the Americans celebrated the holiday with a landslide victory.
Xavier Munford scored 24 points and the United States defeated Cuba 87-64 on Monday night to finish the first round of qualifying for next year’s World Cup in basketball – and improved to 31-1 all the time against the island nation.
“It’s emotional to play on the fourth of July,” said Jim Boylen, who coached the United States in all three two-match windows in the preliminary qualifying round. “It’s emotional to be here with this group of boys, with the United States on their chest. It’s a big day. Our country is 246 years old today and we are just grateful for this moment together.”
Munford were 10 to 12 from the floor for the Americans, who got 13 points from Justin Jackson, 12 from John Jenkins – all from 3-point range – and 10 from Will Davis and Langston Galloway.
“It’s July 4th. No better feeling than winning tonight,” Munford said.
Jordan Bell finished with eight rebounds and six assists for the Americans, whose place in the second qualifying round was previously secured. They will take a record of 5-1 into the second round, well on their way to taking a place in the World Cup and going a big step closer to getting USA Basketball qualified for the Olympics in Paris in 2024.
Yoel Cubilla led Cuba (0-6) with 15 points.
The Americans start the second round of the World Cup qualifiers on August 25, with the expectation that the first matchup will be against Uruguay in Las Vegas. The United States will also play on August 29, probably away and probably against Colombia, although FIBA has not yet confirmed it as a matchup.
The two road wins on this trip – the Americans beat Puerto Rico on Friday – put the United States in a prime position to qualify for the World Cup. The list was mainly composed of G League players, which is always the case for the Americans in the World Cup qualifiers, and Boylen said that this group came together quickly.
“We got together 11 days ago and our team was focused, our guys were great, we worked on the basics, we got better every day and I thought we played the right way,” he said. “The bull moved, we grew together, and we cared about each other.”
The United States will be grouped with Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Colombia in the second round. Also grouped from the Americas region will be Venezuela, Argentina, Panama, Canada, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.
Both of these groups will send three teams to the World Cup; the best quarterback from one of these groups will also go, with the Americas region sending seven teams to the tournament to be played in the summer of 2023 in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
Cuba led 16-14 after the first quarter on Monday night. But the Americans scored 14 points in the first 2:19 of the second quarter to take command.
“We lost the first quarter, but I thought the second quarter, we responded,” Boylen said.
A 3-point lead by Jackson opened the second quarter and put the United States in the lead for good. The lead was 49-32 early in the third – and ended what was a 35-16 run by the United States – and the Americans stayed ahead of the rest of the way.
“The Cuba team was great,” Munford said. “They came out with a huge effort. They made us work for it. They had strong boys. We played well tonight. We performed, took care of the ball, drove attacks and played American basketball.”
