XALAPA (Mexico) - Before the U16 FIBA Americas Championship final between Argentina and the United States tipped off, the Classification games for fifth through eighth place and the third-place game finished up with Canada, Brazil and Puerto Rico coming out on top.

In the third-game place, Canada took down the Dominican Republic, 92-76. Surprisingly, they were able to outlast the DR despite only 10 points from point guard Mikkel Tyne (4-of-13 from the field). For a team that showed limited offensive balance throughout the event, Jacob Theodosiou, Ishan Sharma, Olivier Rioux and Abraham Osman all scored in double figures.

On the flip side, the DR’s Danny Carbuccia had another rough outing, shooting just 23 percent from the field and turning the ball over three times. The DR also did not score more points off turnovers or fast break points than Canada, which was a major concern for a team that loves to control pace and win with their defense.

In the 5-6 matchup, Brazil took down Mexico, 73-60, for the second time over the last seven days. They defeated Mexico by 10 in their first group stage game, using their dominant interior play to overwhelm their opponents through size and physical play.

It was much of the same for Brazil on Sunday as they outrebounded them by 13 and scored eight more points in the paint. But what really made the difference in this game was the play of Eduardo Bersch Klafke, who dropped a ridiculous 31 points on 12-of-16 shooting, grabbed nine rebounds at 6-foot-1 and dished out six assists to just three turnovers.

In the 7-8 duel, Puerto Rico took down Chile – which finished the event without a single victory – 73-46 behind the likes of Maddox Gali (16 points) and Brandon Lee (13 points). Alejandro Aviles – who has been a stud throughout the tourney for PR – notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Chile turned the ball over 22 times and only shot 18 percent from 3-point territory. They didn’t have a single player score in double figures and clearly showed a talent disadvantage throughout the tournament.

 FIBA