USA Basketball narrowly defeated Puerto Rico 85-84 in what was a tight quarterfinal in the AmeriCup on Thursday. Team USA came from behind to win courtesy of a Norris Cole game-winning basket just 1.4 seconds before the final buzzer.
A two-time NBA champion with the Miami Heat, Cole proved to be USA’s standout performer on the night with a game-high score of 20 points. “Moments like that, everybody dreams about,” Cole said of his buzzer-beating basket. “I work hard at my individual game along with the team game, I was able to show my individual talent within the team concept and it worked out.”
Following Cole on Team USA’s points leaderboard for the game was Jeremy Pargo with 15 points, Zylan Cheatham with 11 points, and Stephen Zimmerman with 10 points. Tremont Waters and Ethan Thompson were Puerto Rico’s top performers, scoring 16 points each.
Team USA will face Argentina in the semifinal on Saturday, with both the gold medal and bronze medal games happening on Sunday. The other semifinal will see Canada face the winner of the quarterfinal clash between Brazil and the Dominican Republic.
