IRAPUATO (México) - The top eight national teams in the Americas tipped off the ninth edition of the FIBA U16 Women’s AmeriCup 2025 on Monday. The opening four games took place at the Inforum in Irapuato, Mexico. The tournament will award four qualifying spots to the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2026. Four-time defending champions United States opened with a win over South American U15 champion Venezuela, while Argentina defeated Puerto Rico in another Group A matchup. In Group B, Canada topped Colombia and Centrobasket U15 champions, Mexico, won over Panama. During the Group Phase, each team plays every other team in its group to determine seeding for the Quarter-Finals. The bracket will match up teams as follows: 1st A vs. 4th B, 2nd A vs. 3rd B, 2nd B vs. 3rd A, and 1st B vs. 4th A. The winners advance to the Semi-Finals, where they’ll compete for a spot in the Final, while the losing teams will play for the bronze medal. Here’s a look at the best of Day 1:
ARG 73 - 50 PUR
Argentina capitalized on its opponent’s mistakes at the backcourt and secured its first win of the tournament. Puerto Rico committed a total of 33 turnovers, which Argentina turned into 36 points on the other end. The Argentine defense also tallied 17 steals—six of them by Santina Cherot. Francisca Canello led Argentina's offense with 15 points. The center also grabbed 9 rebounds and dished out 2 assists. Isabella Roldán followed with 12 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks, while Florencia Losada rounded out the offensive trio with 12 points and 5 rebounds.
Argentina showcased solid team play, recording 23 assists. Cherot, who also scored 11 points, led this category with 5 assists. In total, nine players contributed at least one assist. For Puerto Rico, Valeria Medina finished one rebound shy of a double-double, posting 16 points and 9 rebounds. Essence De León added 8 points. In addition to their ball-handling issues, the Boricuas struggled from beyond the arc, missing all 15 of their three-point attempts.
USA 113 - 52 VEN
Micah Ojo and Ivanna Wilson each scored 18 points, helping improve the United States’ all-time record at the FIBA U16 Women’s AmeriCup to 43–1. Ojo, in just 18 minutes of action, added 4 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists. Wilson contributed 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block. Tatianna Griffin also stood out with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals.
USA forced 25 turnovers and got a massive lift from the bench, which provided 56 points. They also dominated the rebounding battle, 53–31. On the Venezuelan side, Roberli Pérez led the team with 8 points. Albanys Ramírez, Valeria Rodríguez, and Anyelis Motabán each added 7 points.
CAN 63 - 29 COL
Canada found its offensive rhythm as the game progressed and cruised past Colombia without trouble. The North Americans scored just 27 points in the first two quarters, but dropped 20 in the final stretch to seal the win.
Avery Arije led all scorers with 16 points and made her presence felt in the paint with 3 blocks. In 18 minutes, she also recorded 4 steals, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Grace Pongang scored only 2 points but pulled down 12 rebounds, 4 of them on the offensive glass. On the other side, Alisson Restrepo led Colombia’s offense with 10 points, including two three-pointers.
MEX 122 - 27 PAN
It was raining threes in Irapuato. Mexico knocked down 16 shots from beyond the arc, breaking the current record for most three-pointers made in a single game at the FIBA U16 Women’s AmeriCup since 2013. The previous record of 13 was set by Puerto Rico against Costa Rica in 2021. Mexico finished with an impressive 53 percent from long range (16-of-30). Nine different players made at least one three-pointer, with Mariana Díaz leading the charge with four triples and a game-high 20 points. The forward also added 6 rebounds. Aislin Támez had an all-around performance with 15 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals.
Mexico also came within six points of tying the tournament record for most points scored by a team in a single game. The current record belongs to the United States, which scored 128 against the Dominican Republic in 2009. For Panama, Vivian Grenald led the team with 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals.
Top performers - Day 1
Mariana Díaz (MEX) PTS: 20 | 3P: 4-5 | REB: 6 | AST: 3 | STL: 2 | BLK: 1 | EFF: 27 Aislin Tamez (MEX) PTS: 15 | FG: 6-9 | REB: 5 | AST: 6 | STL: 4 | BLK: 1 | EFF: 25 Micah Ojo (USA) PTS: 18 | FG: 7-14 | REB: 4 | AST: 3 | STL: 4 | BLK: 1 | EFF: 21 Avery Arije (CAN) PTS: 16 | FT: 7-8 | REB: 3 | AST: 2 | STL: 4 | BLK: 3 | EFF: 21 Tatianna Griffin (USA) PTS: 14 | FG: 7-14 | REB: 6 | AST: 2 | STL: 5 | EFF: 19 Valeria Aguilar (MEX) PTS: 9 | 3P: 3-3 | REB: 3 | AST: 8 | STL: 4 | EFF: 19
Upcoming games
Tuesday, June 17 (Group Phase - Day 2): ARG vs. VEN - 12:30 p.m. (local time) USA vs. PUR - 3:00 p.m. PAN vs. COL - 5:30 p.m. CAN vs. MEX - 8:00 p.m.
FIBA