Overnight Sunday into Monday, Argentina was led by a pair of Euroleague stars to its third FIBA AmeriCup title by edging Brazil 73-75 in the championship game. Gabriel Deck of Real Madrid led the winners with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Nico Laprovittola of FC Barcelona added 15 points and 8 rebounds while Nicolas Brussino of Gran Canaria added 7 points to the cause. Vitor Benite, also of Gran Canaria, led Brazil with 18 points. Argentina, which grabbed its 11th consecutive medal at the event and Deck was chosen tournament MVP.
Deck, Laprovittola lead Argentina to AmeriCup title
Laprovittola struck twice from downtown, then Campazzo and Deck each hit a triple to give Argentina its first double-digit lead, 4-14. Brussino joined the three-point shootout to make it 14-26 after 10 minutes. Argentina kept a 38-48 margin at halftime and still led 60-67 with over 8 minutes remaining. Benite and Leonardo Meindl of U-BT Cluj-Napoca fueled the Brazilian comeback and Lucas Dias hit a triple to complete it, 70-69, with under 4 minutes left. Deck made free throws and Marcos Delia dunked to tie the game, 73-73. It all came down to the final two plays, as Laprovittola found Deck for the go-ahead basket and Dias missed from downtown seconds before the final buzzer, allowing Argentina to celebrate a historical win. In the bronze medal game, USA beat Canada 84-80.