Brazil's Recife (A.P.) — At AmeriCup, USA Basketball will compete for a medal thanks to Norris Cole.
Cole, a two-time NBA champion with the Miami Heat, scored a game-high 20 points on Thursday, closing it off by scoring the game-winning runner with 1.4 seconds left. As a result, the United States defeated Puerto Rico 85-84.
It was the game's eighth and last lead change, with the last two occurring in the last 6.1 seconds.
Cole scored the final eight points for the Americans and said: "I just wanted to make a play for the team." I was able to make a play because the team trusted me and set up a play for me to catch it. Everyone dreams of experiences like that, but I work hard at both my solo and team games, so I demonstrated my unique talent inside the framework of the team, and it worked out.
Jeremy Pargo scored 15 points for the United States, and Zylan Cheatham and Stephen Zimmerman each contributed 11 and 10.
Alex Jensen, the U.S. coach, stated, "We're fortunate to win. They did a great job getting ready for us. We were lucky. However, hopefully, it will serve as a helpful lesson going ahead.
For Puerto Rico, Tremont Waters and Ethan Thompson each scored 16. With 6.1 seconds left, Waters made a basket to give his team a one-point lead, setting up the final U.S. possession.
Cole received the inbounds pass, dribbled with his left hand, accelerated from a position near the lane's corner, switched hands, and got the shot to fall to give the Americans the lead.
He gave the air a celebratory punch, but the Americans still needed to stop.
They succeeded in part because of Puerto Rico's poor performance. Waters' only option was to attempt a desperate heave from the far right corner, but it missed, and the United States managed to escape.
Having a 10-point lead midway through the second quarter, Puerto Rico coach Nelson Colon commented, "We were 1 second from winning this game." "I can only say 'thank you to all my players, staff, and managers who supported and helped us in this tournament," the coach said.
On Saturday, the Americans will play Argentina or Venezuela in the semifinals. On Sunday, the gold- or bronze-medal games will take place.
After this, it only gets more challenging, Jensen added.
Thursday's first quarterfinal saw Canada defeat Mexico 82-77. Canada's semifinal opponent will be Brazil or the Dominican Republic; those teams were due to play Thursday's late game.
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