'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAFAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQH/8QAFAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAv/aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAAy6YL/8QAIRAAAgEDAwUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgMBAAQiEiFRBREyM+H/2gAIAQEAAT8A6M1z1DZMMMQMoZChicT1b8+PbfmgtXNCGS5ecavV9r//xAAVEQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAf/aAAgBAgEBPwCP/8QAFREBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABH/2gAIAQMBAT8Aj//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
After another dominant win at the FIBA U16 AmeriCup tournament, USA Basketball is headed to the finals once again, and Beckham Black has proven to be one of the team's leaders. He only scored two points against Puerto Rico in Saturday's semifinals, but he was one of the most efficient players for USA Basketball, with four rebounds, five assists, four steals and one block.
However, during the postgame interview with the USA Basketball official website, the point guard revealed that he was surprised he was selected as one of the final 12 to make it to the roster.
“To be honest, shocked,” Beckham Black told USA Basketball. “I’ve been working all year towards this goal, like a lot of other guys here. So I feel like my reaction, as well as everybody else’s, was just shock and happiness, of course.”
Trending
The final 12 were chosen from a pool of 35 of the best athletes, 16 years old or under, with this being Black's national team debut competition. He added what he was doing to represent the red, white and blue over at Juarez, Mexico:
“I wanted to display who I am as a player,” he told USA Basketball. “Just a true point guard. Keeping my team involved, as well as on the defensive side.”
He also commented on his experience over at Juarez so far:
“Being here is teaching me a lot of leadership, even more than I already knew,” Beckham said. “I’m adding leadership to my game … and resilience.”
Beckham Black is the younger brother of the Orlando Magic's Anthony Black. His older brother previously represented the United States during the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship tournament in Tijuana, Mexico, winning the gold medal. Anthony also played for Team USA during the 2022 Nike Hoop Summit, which defeated Team World that year.
Beckham Black and Team USA to take on Canada in the U16 FIBA AmeriCup finals
USA Basketball dominated Puerto Rico in the semifinals, 106-68, and their next opponent will be their neighbors to the north, Canada. This is the ninth straight time USA Basketball has gotten to the U16 AmeriCup finals, winning it every single time, with the Americans remaining undefeated in all nine editions.
Canada is fresh off its 78-65 win over Venezuela and has been one of the fastest-growing countries in basketball, with Canada producing stars like the Oklahoma Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Denver Nuggets' Jamal Murray. However, on the U16 level, Team USA is still the overwhelming favorite.
