Canada edged by late U.S. comeback in AmeriCup bronze-medal game

American Gary Clark put up 18 points and the U.S. edged Canada 84-80 to take bronze at the FIBA AmeriCup on Sunday in Recife, Brazil.

Canada jumped out to a six-point lead by the end of the second quarter, only to see it whittled away as the Americans went on a 9-0 run late in the fourth.

Abu Kigab led Canada with 18 points and four rebounds, while Kadre Gray poured in 15 points and seven assists off the bench.

"With Nick Nurse setting a foundation for our whole country and how we want to play, offensively and defensively, having a 'one team, one goal' mindset."

Both sides struggled from distance, with Canada making 2-of-10 three-point attempts and the U.S. going 5-for-23.

"I knew a couple of guys coming in but for the most part, we were all brand new," Kigab said. "I thought the coaching staff did a great job of helping us jell together in a short amount of time. Our success so far is just a testament to them.

Canada lost 86-76 to host Brazil in the semifinal on Saturday.

"I mean this, a lot of credit to Canada and Nate and their staff." said U.S. head coach Alex Jansen. "We played them in a practice game when we first got down here [in Brazil] and the improvement that they've had as a team is pretty remarkable."

Later Sunday, Gabriel Deck's layup with 16.1 seconds left lifted Argentina past Brazil 75-73 in the gold-medal game.

Deck scored 20 points, Nicolas Laprovittola added 15 and Facundo Campazzo had 13 for Argentina. Vitor Benite led Brazil with 18 points, while Marcelinho Huertas and Yago Santos each scored 11.