Caguas, Puerto Rico - August 22-26, 1996

Defeating host and co-favorite Puerto Rico twice, the USA Men's 22 And Under World Championship Qualifying Team swept through their competition to capture the gold medal at the COPABA 22 And Under Tournament in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

1996 USA 22 & Under World Championship Qualifying Team 1996 USA RESULTS (5-0) USA 113 Panama 84 USA 104 Uruguay 40 USA 80 Puerto Rico 78 USA 114 Canada 54 USA 119 Puerto Rico 83 1996 COMPETITION FINAL STANDINGS 1. *USA (5-0) 5. Brazil (2-2) 2. *Puerto Rico (3-2) 6. Panama (1-3) 3. *Argentina (4-1) 7. Uruguay (1-3) 4. Canada (2-3) 8. Mexico (0-4) * Qualified for the 1997 FIBA Men's 22 & Under World Championship

With the first place finish, the USA accomplished its goal of qualifying for the 1997 FIBA 22 And Under World Championship in Melbourne, Australia. Host Puerto Rico took the silver medal, while Argentina beat Canada 75-70 in the bronze medal game to claim the final qualifying spot.

Opening the tournament facing Panama, the USA blew the game open midway in the second half and cruised to the 113-84 victory. Austin Croshere's 22 points led the U.S., while Shea Seals added 16, Louis Bullock chipped in 13 and Toby Bailey, Maurice Taylor and Paul Pierce each contributed 10 points. The following day the USA trounced Uruguay 104-40. Aiding in the U.S. attack were Croshere with 14 points, Bailey and Pierce each added 12, while Brian Skinner, who pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, and Taylor, both chipped in 10 points.

With the help of a team-high 15 points from Duncan and a double-double effort of 12 points and 10 rebounds from Croshere, the U.S. men edged host Puerto Rico 80-78 to claim their third win. A tight contest from start to finish, the U.S. reeled off eight unanswered points to jump ahead 75-64 with 4:16 left in the contest. Puerto Rico rallied to within one, 77-76, with 1:51 to play following a 12-2 scoring blitz. Leading 79-78 with 1:10 remaining, Taylor made one of two free throws to seal the 80-78 victory. Along with Duncan's 15 points and Croshere's 12, the U.S. efforts were aided by 12 points from Carr, Taylor added 11 points and Knight scored 10 points.

Behind a game-high 19 point performance from Anthony Parker, the USA downed Canada 114-54 to earn a berth in the gold medal game. More importantly, with the win, the United States qualified for the 1997 FIBA 22 And Under World Championship. While Parker led the U.S. offense, Knight recorded 16 points and a game-high eight assists, Duncan and Pierce each pitched in 14 points and Taylor added 11. Duncan and Taylor shared top rebounding honors with nine boards.

A veteran of USA Basketball teams, Duncan saved his best showing for the gold medal game as the 6-11 center was perfect from the floor (11-11 FGs), en route to recording game-highs of 26 points and 15 rebounds to lead the USA to the gold medal and an impressive 119-83 victory over host Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico led 15-8 with 16:08 to go in the half, but the U.S., sparked by six points from Seals and five from Carr, recorded a 14-0 run to reclaim the lead for good at 22-15 with 13:31 remaining in the period. Enjoying a 51-36 lead at halftime, the U.S. romped to the gold medal with the 119-83 victory.

In addition to Duncan's 26 points, the U.S. effort was aided by Carr's 24 points, while Bullock scored 12, Croshere contributed 11 and Knight added 10 points and a game-high six assists.