BRA - Hosts win Pan American gold

RIO DE JANEIRO (Pan American Games) - Brazil then put in a dominant performance to claim Pan American gold with an 86-65 defeat of Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico had surprised many by making it this far - few expected them to beat Argentina in the semifinals - but the Cindarella story came to an abrupt end on Sunday.

Brazil came roaring out of the blocks to score the first nine points of the game and take a 17-5 lead after five minutes.

They would maintain that double-digit advantage the rest of the way, leading 50-34 at half-time.

Joao Paulo Batista had 20 points to pace four Brazilians in double figures as Marcelo Machado added 17, Marcus Vinicius 14 and Murilo Da Rosa 11. Brazil shot 28 of 59 (47%) from the field.

Brazilian attention now switches immediately to the FIBA Americas Championship which tips off in Las Vegas on August 22nd with two places at the Beijing Olympics up for grabs.

"The players understand how big our goal - an Olympic berth - is," said coach Aluisio Ferreira. "To win the Pan American Games is great, but we our focused on the pre-Olympic tournament. The team played as a real team today, defensively and offensively. That is something important we need to maintain. This is a strong team that has experience from abroad. We have a good chance of getting an Olympic place."

"We've been drawn in a tough group in the Americas Championship, but we'll fight for a place in Beijing," added Machado. "To play in the Olympic Games is my dream, as I have never played in them yet. I want to end my international career with a place on the podium in Beijing. With the qualities this team has, it is not an impossible dream."

Puerto Rico's best weapon in the tournament had been their three-point shooting, but it deserted them in the final as they made only two-of-11 shots from beyond the arc.

Angelo Reyes led the team with 14 points.

"Brazil is better than us offensively and they had a great game," said Puerto Rico coach Manuel Cintron. "They were very good on the attack. Despite this defeat, we've had a very good tournament. We are very happy with silver."

Uruguay took bronze with a 99-93 overtime defeat of Argentina, who disappointed after being tipped to reach the final only to lose their final two games.

Quite how they lost this one is a mystery. They had used an outstanding second quarter - which included a 16-0 run - to take a 40-23 lead at half-time and seemed to be in complete control.

But whatever Uruguay coach Alberto Espasandin told his team in the locker room seemed to do the trick and it was Uruguay who took command in the third quarter, pulling back to within a point, 56-55, going into the final period.

The two teams scrapped their way to the buzzer, and finished normal time with the scores tied at 81-81.

Uruguay then edged the extra session to snatch an unexpected bronze.

"It was a historic game," said Martin Osimani who had six points for Uruguay. "This generation has never had a medal in an event of this kind. We improved our defence in the third quarter and that changed the game. When we managed to tie the scores, our players changed their mentality."

"We overcame many difficulties," said Espasandin, "not least being only a little country with little investment in basketball. We showed guts and team spirit."

Fernando Martinez scored 24 points, including a perfect nine of nine from the free throw line, to lead six Uruguay players in double figures.

Esteban Batista had 16 points and 17 rebounds, while Leandro Garcia Morales had 15 points, Mauricio Aguiar and Nicolas Mazzarino 11 each and Gaston Paez 10.

Uruguay made 29 of 80 (36%) shots from the field.

Diego Logrippo scored 24 points to lead six Argentinians in double figures as Facundo Sucatzky had 14 points, Roman Gonzalez 13 and Diego Garcia, Javier Bulfoni and Martin Leiva 10 each.

Even so, coach Gonzalo Garcia was left to lament the quality of his squad after the game.

"Since Mar de Plata in 1995 right up to now, Argentina has not brought its best team to the Pan American Games," he said. "With another kind of team, we could have won the tournament."

The United States clinched fifth place by beating Panama 77-74.

Having disappointed in playing their way out of contention in the early stages, the United States have recovered to win three straight games and finish on a high note.

"This game was a real character game," said coach Jay Wright. "I think it showed how much we've come together as a team. Nothing worked for us in the first half. Everything we tried, all of our scorers in the previous games couldn't score and we just went to our bench.

"Our guys coming off the bench played a completely different style than we've played the whole time here and we just gutted it out. I think that just shows how much they have come together and how well they have learned to adapt together. It's a credit to these kids' character. That was a gutty win."

Derrick Low had 16 points while Shane Foster and Dewayne White Jr each added 14 and Maarten Leunen had 12.

Danilo Pinnock and Dionisio Gomez each scored 17 points for Panama.

Canada clinched seventh place by beating the Virgin Islands 69-60 behind a balanced offence that saw five players score in double figures.

Jermaine Anderson led the way with 13 points, while Jesse Wade Young and Vlad Kuljanin had 11 each and Rans Brempong and Jermaine Bucknor 10 each.

Carl Kreuser led the Virgin Islands with 14 points.

FIBA