RECIFE, Brazil (AP) — USA Basketball didn’t come home from the AmeriCup empty-handed.
Gary Clark scored 18 points, and the United States rallied in the final minutes to beat Canada 84-80 in Sunday’s bronze medal game.
The Americans went on a 26-10 run in a 7-minute stretch of the final quarter, turning what was a 63-56 deficit into an 82-73 lead.
“I’m happy for our guys,” USA coach Alex Jensen said. “It was an honor to be a part of it.”
It was the ninth time in 11 appearances in the AmeriCup – the championship of the FIBA Americas region – that the United States took home a medal. The Americans have won gold seven times, silver once and now have a bronze.
Canada was seeking a seventh medal in 19 appearances at the event.
Jodie Meeks — an NBA champion who spent 10 years in the league with seven teams — scored what might have been her last three points as a competitive player during that late run by Meeks’ only points of the United States in the day came when it was bankrupt. a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws with 3:31 left, pulling the USA into a 71-71 tie.
Meeks plans to retire and begin a coaching career. His teammates sent him off with a medal, and Clark’s layup with 1:43 left put the Americans on top for good.
“It was definitely an experience for our guys,” Clark said. “The weather is great. I think most of the guys were upset that they couldn’t get into the ocean because of the sharks…but we had our time here.”
Abu Kigab scored 18 points for Canada, while Kadre Gray and Jahvon Henry-Blair had 15 each.
Zylan Cheatham scored 16 for the United States, while Craig Sword added 11 and Norris Cole led the team with eight assists.
Coming home with medals, while not a top event like the Olympics or the World Cup, was no small feat for the G League group and international players the United States brought together for this trip.
“From Day 1, I felt it,” Jensen said. “You are part of a special group.”
