USA 118, CAN 36
The 2023 USA Men's U16 National Team wrote another chapter in the history book by capturing the gold medal for the eighth-straight time at the FIBA Men's U16 Americas Championship. The Americans, bolstering a 6-0 record at the event, defeated Canada 118-36 on Sunday at Poliforum Zamná in Mérida, Mexico.
The gold medal gives Sharman White his second as head coach of the USA Men's U16 National Team (2021, 2023). He joins Don Showalter (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017) on the list of American head coaches to win multiple FIBA Men's U16 Americas Championship titles.
The bronze-medal game saw Puerto Rico defeat Argentina, 86-76, in overtime.
The USA-Canada box score is available here.
TEAM NOTES
Excellence Since 2009: The USA has won gold at every edition of the FIBA Men's U16 Americas Championship. The inaugural event was held in 2009 and the U.S. has stood atop the podium at the conclusion of each. Having never been defeated, the Americans have an all-time record of 43-0 at the competition.
Familiar Foe, Repeated Result: The U.S. and Canada have faced each other in the gold-medal game four times. The other matchups occurred in 2015 (77-60), 2017 (111-60) and 2019 (94-77). Outside of the USA, Canada is the only other national team to medal at each FIBA Men's U16 Americas Championship. The red, white and blue is 7-0 all-time against their neighbor to the north at the competition.
Gold Standard: The USA won the last seven gold medals (2009-2021) at the FIBA Men's U16 Americas Championship by an average of 28.6 points per game. Tonight's 82 margin of victory became the highest in the history of the competition's gold medal game (previous was 51 vs Canada, 111-60, in 2017).
Going, Going, Gold: Canada had a 5-0 lead to open the gold-medal game as the USA opened 0-for-7 from the field but the U.S. defense led to instant offense. The Americans forced 12 first quarter turnovers, which saw the red, white and blue go on a 27-2 run in the frame. The United States carried a double-figure lead for the remainder of the game.
Championship Cut: The U.S. shot 51.0% (51-100 FG) from the floor and 69.2% (9-13 FT) from the line. Canada shot 17.8% (13-73 FG) from the field and 77.8% (7-9 FT) from the line.
PLAYER NOTES
MVP: Cameron Boozer was named the MVP of the 2023 FIBA Men's U16 Americas Championship. Cameron Boozer joins seven other Americans who have earned the honor - Bradley Beal (2009), Jabari Parker (2011), Malik Newman (2013), Gary Trent Jr. (2015), Vernon Carey Jr. (2017), Chris Livingston (2019) and Robert Dillingham (2021).
Bright Lights, Big Buckets: The U.S. was led by six double-digit scorers against Canada. Cameron Boozer had a game-high 24 points while Tyran Stokes had 15, Darryn Peterson added 13, AJ Dybantsa finished with 12, Koa Peat scored 11 and Jayden Quaintance chipped in 10.
Stokes the Fire: Tyran Stokes did Tyran Stokes things in the gold-medal game. Leading the USA bench in scoring all tournament, he came off the bench and seemingly dunked his way to 15 points. He averaged 10.3 points per game during the competition.
What's Next
2023 FIBA Women's U16 Americas Championship
USA vs. Puerto Rico | June 13 @ 7:30 p.m. ET | YouTube.com/FIBA
USA vs. Puerto Rico | June 13 @ 7:30 p.m. ET | YouTube.com/FIBA
A game recap will be published on usab.com