Mexico bucked the tall odds against them and completed an unprecedented run in the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship for men by bagging the gold medal in the tournament.
The Mexicans displayed tremendous composure down the stretch to pull off a huge 91-89 victory in a pulsating finals showdown with Puerto Rico in Caracas, Venezuela.
Heading into the finale with a lot of confidence after beating Argentina in the semifinals, Mexico started out strong and took a 26-18 lead at the end of the first period, but the Puerto Ricans managed to slow the Mexicans down in the second period.
After trimming the lead down to three points at the half, Puerto Rico sustained the momentum in the period in which they took a 71-66 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes of the match.
With the coveted gold medal on the line, the two teams went toe-to-toe against each other in the final period. Carlos Arroyo made a huge shot to give Puerto Rico a precarious 88-86 lead with 1:21 left to play, but Mexico's Juan Gutierrez tied the game anew with two free-throw conversions.
Lorenzo Mata then gave Mexico a two-point lead with two free throws after he was fouled by John Holland. Daniel Santiago had a chance to tie the game for Puerto Rico, but he missed one of his free throws.
Mexico's Paul Stoll then extended the lead to two points with eight seconds left in the game. Alexander Galindo had a chance to win it for Puerto Rico, but he missed the potential game-winning three-pointer as the final buzzer sounded.
Jovan Harris led the offensive attack of Mexico with 23 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the field, while Gustavo Ayon had another dominating performance with 20 points and 16 rebounds to go along with three assists and two blocks.
Meanwhile, Argentina failed to defend their title but they will not head back to their homeland empty-handed after snatching the bronze medal with a 103-93 win over the Dominican Republic.
Facundo Campazzo led Argentina with 31 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field, including an impressive 5-for-6 shooting from the beyond-the-arc, while also adding 11 assists and four rebounds. Luis Scola added 23 points and nine rebounds, while Juan Gutierrez added 17 points.
Complete Box Score
Check the complete box score of the finals match between Mexico and Puerto Rico in FIBA Live Stats, together with the full statistics of the bronze-medal match.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
