USA Defeat Panama, 88-58, Capturing First Win at AmeriCup

06 September 2022

USA 88, PAN 58

With an 88-58 wire-to-wire victory over Panama on Monday, the USA AmeriCup Team captured their first win at the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup at Geraldo Arena in Recife, Brazil. This year marks the 10th time the USA has competed at the FIBA AmeriCup.

After falling to Mexico on Friday, the U.S. looked poised to get their first win Sunday against Venezuela before the game was postponed due to technical issues. The second half of that game is set for 2:10 p.m. ET Tuesday. Today, led by some sharp shooting and unselfish play, the team pushed their record to 1-1 and gave themselves an opportunity to claim the top seed in Group C tomorrow.

The full game box score is available here.

TEAM NOTES

Group C: With today's win, the U.S. now move into third place in Group C. The U.S. sits behind Mexico (2-1) and Venezuela (2-0). The top two teams from each of the three groups are guaranteed berths in the quarterfinals, as well as two of the three third-place teams. With FIBA's qualification rules, if the U.S. wins by seven points against Venezuela tomorrow they will finish as the top seed in the group.

Fast Start: The U.S. opened the game making six of their first seven shots (6-7 FG, 3-4 3FG), leading to their first double-digit lead of the game (16-5) with just over five minutes still to play in the opening frame.

Moving the Ball: The Americans moved the ball incredibly well in the game, assisting on 25 of their 34 baskets. They join Argentina (twice) as the only teams at the AmeriCup to record 25 or more assists in a game.

Hot Shooting: The U.S. shot 51.5% (34-66 FG) from the floor, 45.7% (16-35 3FG) from 3-point range and 57.1% (4-7 FT) from the line. Panama shot 43.4% (23-53 FG) from the field, 23.1% (3-13 3FG) from three and 69.2% (9-13 FT) from the line.

PLAYER NOTES

Cole World: Norris Cole helped lead the Americans, ending the game with a team-high 17 points (6-9 FG, 5-8 3FG) to go with two rebounds, four assists and two steals in 19 minutes.

Now Boarding: Gary Clark finished with a near double-double, recording nine points (3-6 3FG) and a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with two assists through 24 minutes. This is his second game with 10+ rebounds (10 vs. MEX, 9/2/22). Clark is the only USA player to finish with 10 or more boards in a single game.

Hello Pargo: Jeremy Pargo finished with 10 points (4-7 FG, 2-3 3FG), a team-high six assists, two steals and a block. He has logged 10+ points in each game so far (14 vs. MEX, .