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United States 70-53 Argentina

Good win! Defense was the name of the game this week as we take the low scoring 17 point win. Offense struggled a little bit, but the defense held them to 25% from the field which is very encouraging. Iragui struggled shooting wise, but led the team in points along with 4 rebounds and assits, as well as put on an incredible defensive performance. We only got to shoot 1 foul shot today, Argentina was incredibly disciplined and did not allow us to get any free points only fouling us 3 times total. Wish the team could have shot a bit better, but a win is a win!

Next week we get Canada. Canada currently sits at 1-2 in the group, with a win against Argentina but losses to Mexico and Brazil. They have a solid team, leading with a 33k PF, followed by a good group of guards. It is going to be a good game as we try to keep the streak going!

Go USA!

United States 86-61 Canada

What a win! Canada comes into the game being the only team actually trying and they got absolutely manhandled. 25 point win for us on much less effort is always a great feeling. We completely shut them down on offense, as they could only score 61 points on 24% shooting from the field. 26 of their points were from free throws, which is not ok by the way, but that means they only actually scored 35 points shooting the ball which is very dominant. Our team could have shot a little better, but we also weren't even trying so it is all good. We absolutely need to clean up the fouling though, and will work heavily on that going forward.

Next week we close out the group with Brazil. Brazil sits right behind us at 2nd in the group at 3-1, with their only loss coming from a tough Argentina team. Brazil has a complete team from top to bottom, starting with a 46k PF, and then they have 2 stellar PGs at 42k and 38k salary. They will definitely be a tough team to beat, so practice this week will be critical in preparation for this game.

Lets close out the groups on a positive note!
Go USA!

United States 87-65 Brazil

Another 20+ point win for the team this week, as in back to back weeks our opponents come into the game looking like the only ones trying. We played well on both sides of the floor, but especially on defense as we held them to just 65 points on 28% shooting from the floor. They ran a patient offense, with their main shooter shooting 6-28. That is lockdown right there. On the offensive side, Simms lead the team with 8-12 shooting and 16 points, along with 11 rebounding. A nice double double from him, as well as from Parham, who came in off the bench after Urban was fouled hard and had to come out of the game. Parham provided some very nice minutes, finishing with 12 points and 16 rebounds in his extra time. Well done from the big men this game.

And that does it for groups! We finish atop our group at 5-0, and go into the playoffs facing the 2 seed from the other group, who happen to be Peru. Peru managed to sneak their way into the playoffs, after winning their game yesterday by 2 points after entering the final minute of the game losing. We played them way back in the first group, in a game that resulted in a convincing win for us, but we know they have improved a lot since then so we are excited for a great game. Short week, as the game is Friday night, so that means we will be putting in extra work at practice to make sure we are ready for the game.

Let's get this final!
Go USA!

Semi Final: United States 114-58 Peru

Going to keep this one short and sweet, the semi final was one of the most convincing wins we had all season, so that tells how dominant we were in this game. They double guessed wrong, and it got ugly real quick within the first minute or 2. It was a nice and relaxing game to clinch Worlds competition next season with, we always take those.

Final: United States 80-68 Chile

This was a much more interesting game and as expected. Chile was easily the strongest team in Americas competition this season, and they had home court advantage throughout the whole season. They made good tactics choices in this game as well, dodging our guess and running 3-2, but I never really was worried. Our roster just easily outclassed them and I was still confident this was going to be the case when I saw the tactics. We got into some foul trouble very early in the first quarter, but the team dialed it back and locked them down throughout the game. A good win for another gold.

With that game concludes another Americas season for me in the books! A 12-0 record in official matches along with another gold trophy. Thank you to all of the managers training and keeping your players in good GS throughout the season, it allowed this to be a pretty comfortable season from a coaching standpoint. That makes 3 straight golds for me, lets keep this momentum rolling into Worlds next season!!

Lets gooooo!!
Go USA!