Brad Beal, Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.)
Photo courtesy of Steven Maikoski/USA Basketball
The USA Under-16 Men’s National Team wrapped up preliminary play at the FIBA Americas U16 Championships in impressive fashion Friday in Mendoza, Argentina, handing Puerto Rico a 126-73 thrashing to move on to semifinal play as the No. 1 seed in Group A.
Brad Beal (Chaminade / St. Louis, Mo.) led a contingent of six USA players scoring in double figures with 18 points. Sterling Gibbs (Seton Hall Prep / Scotch Plains, N.J.) and Adonis Thomas (Melrose / Memphis, Tenn.) notched 17 apiece, while James McAdoo (Norfolk Christian / Norfolk, Va.) added 15 and Andre Drummond (St. Thomas More / Oakdale, Conn.) and Chasson Randle (Rock Island / Rock Island, Ill.) each contributed 10.
Every player on the USA roster scored and grabbed at least one rebound. Quinn Cook (DeMatha / Hyattsville), who led the Red, White and Blue with 22 points in its last outing, turned distributor in this contest with eight assists.
“I loved our defensive pressure. We played together really well as a team,” USA head coach Don Showalter said. “We had 22 assists. Our team really has found each other on the court. You can tell they really enjoy playing with each other, making the right passes. Obviously we need to step that up tomorrow night, but that was a great way to end up pool play.”
The USA was dominant in preliminary play, averaging 112.3 points per game while allowing 77. Argentina (3-0) looks to be the primary threat from Group B after knocking off Canada in overtime Friday night, 87-81.
The USA meets Canada in semifinal action Saturday. A win in that contest guarantees the team a spot in the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship.
