Incoming Villanova freshmen Mark Armstrong and Cam Whitmore took home the gold as members of the USA Basketball Under-18 roster Sunday evening, as the USA beat Brazil 102-60 in the final of the FIBA U18 Americas Championship. 

Whitmore took home the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award after recording a 30-point double-double in the final against Brazil on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and 4-8 shooting from three. He paired that with 12 rebounds. Whitmore led the USA in points per game with 18.7 in just 17.4 minutes per game, and was second in the tournament in scoring, behind only Canada’s Vasean Allette (18.8). Whitmore shot 10-for-22 from deep throughout the six games. Whitmore also had a 27-point performance as well as a 24-point game during the tournament. 

Armstrong was second on Team USA in assists per game with 3.8. Armstrong paired that with only eight turnovers throughout the competition, giving him an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.9. Armstrong averaged 10.7 points per game and also had 11 steals.

Both Armstrong and Whitmore ranked highly in efficiency for the tournament. Armstrong had an efficiency rating of 84, and Whitmore had an efficiency rating of 125. Whitmore was second in efficiency, only trailing USA teammate Kel’el Ware (126). 

The United States has now taken home the gold at the past six FIBA U18 Americas Championships, dating back to 2010. The USA has won gold 10 out of 12 times since the tournament’s creation.

The States’ performance at the 2022 edition was dominant, as its smallest margin of victory was a 28-point win against Mexico. With the tournament victory, the USA has qualified for the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, which will be hosted in 2023 in Debrecen, Hungary. The USA has won five of the past seven FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cups.