Gabriel Deck's game-winner gives Argentina FIBA AmeriCup trophy / News - Basketnews.com

Gabriel Deck, MVP of the tournament, drained a two-point dagger with 16 seconds left on the clock to gift Argentina their FIBA AmeriCup trophy.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Argentina has captured the gold medal at the FIBA AmeriCup 2022 after defeating hosts Brazil 75-73 (26-14, 22-24, 19-22, 8-13) in a thrilling final, culminating a perfect 6-0 record in the tournament.

Three points were as close as the hosts got in the third quarter on multiple occasions, as Argentina closed with eight made free throws across a final couple of minutes to pull out to a 67-60 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The raucous home crowd turned it up a notch in the final quarter, helping lift Brazil to a 10-2 run, as they grabbed their first lead of the game since early in the first quarter.

The two teams traded leads until the final lead change came on a game-winning layup by Deck with 16.1 seconds left, sealing the deal for Argentina.

It was only fitting for Deck to make the last shot of the tournament, as he was named the MVP of the Game once again, finishing with 20 points and 7 rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point, and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line for a game-high 20 EFF.

He was also named the MVP of the AmeriCup after a stellar tournament, averaging 21.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game, while shooting 64.9 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from the three-point zone, and 86.2 percent from the free-throw line.

"Extremely proud of our guys. I think they did an amazing job, but before that, I want to congratulate Brazil and its players, and coaches. I think they played an amazing tournament as well. Could be for them, could be for us. I think luck sometimes decides the winner," said Argentina's head coach, Pablo Prigioni.

This was the fourth time that Argentina and Brazil squared off in an AmeriCup final, as Argentina has now won three of those four matchups (2001, 2011, 2022).

After finishing with the silver medal, Brazil has now won 11 medals at the competition, the second most all-time behind Argentina, who now has 14.

Argentina also won a medal for the 11th AmeriCup in a row, the best run in the history of the competition, and it will be their 14th medal overall, also the most ever.

Argentina: Gabriel Deck 20 (7 REB), Nicolas Laprovittola 15 (8 REB), Facundo Campazzo 13 (5 AST).

Brazil: Vitor Benite 18, Marcelinho Huertas 11, Yago Santos 11 (5 REB, 9 AST).

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