Who are the players and teams to watch at FIBA AmeriCup 2022?

After a five-year hiatus, the FIBA AmeriCup returns in 2022 to crown the basketball champion of the Americas for the 19th time. The 12-country tournament tips off on Friday, Sept. 2 and will run to Sept. 11 with all games being played at Geraldão Arena in the Brazilian city of Recife.

The defending champion United States headlines the 12-country field that also includes: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Canada, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela and Virgin Islands.

History

Now known as the AmeriCup, this tournament debuted in 1980 and was originally known as the FIBA Americas Championship and the Tournament of the Americas. Six countries account for the first 18 championships, with the United States leading the way with seven, followed by Brazil (four), Puerto Rico (three), Argentina (two), Mexico (one) and Venezuela (one).

The United States enters as the defending champion, capturing the 2017 AmeriCup championship with a 5-0 record, including road wins against host countries Uruguay and Argentina, with the latter coming in the gold medal game. The United States enters the 2022 AmeriCup as the favorite as they look to be the first team to repeat as champions this century.

Champions

1980: Puerto Rico (1)
1984: Brazil (1)
1988: Brazil (2)
1989: Puerto Rico (2)
1992: United States (1)
1993: United States (2)
1995: Puerto Rico (3)
1997: United States (3)
1999: United States (4)
2001: Argentina (1)
2003: United States (5)
2005: Brazil (3)
2007: United States (6)
2009: Brazil (4)
2011: Argentina (2)
2013: Mexico (1)
2015: Venezuela (1)
2017: United States (7)

Tournament Format

The competition begins with the Group Phase from Sept. 2-6 as the 12 countries will be divided into three groups of four teams each. This stage of the competition features a round robin format as each team will play all of the other teams in its group once for a total of three games per team and 18 games overall.

The Group Phase will trim the field from 12 teams to eight, as the teams that finish first and second in each group, as well as the two best third-place teams from the Group Phase, will advance to the Final Phase.

The Final Phase features the remaining eight teams and will be played in a single-elimination format. The teams will be ranked based on their results in the Group Phase into the following quarterfinal pairings to be played on Sept. 8:

Game 19: Best 1st placed team vs. Second-best 3rd place team
Game 20: Second-best 1st placed team vs. Best 3rd place team
Game 21: Remaining 1st placed team vs. lowest 2nd placed team
Game 22: Best 2nd placed team vs. Second-best 2nd placed team

The winners of the quarterfinals will advance to the semifinals in the following pairings to be played on Sept. 10:

Game 23: Winner Game 19 vs. Winner Game 22
Game 24: Winner Game 20 vs. Winner Game 21

The winners of the semifinals will advance to the gold medal game, while the losers of the semifinals will play to determine the third-place winner on the final day of the competition on Sept. 11:

Game 25: Loser Game 23 vs. Loser Game 24 (Third Place Game)
Game 26: Winner Game 23 vs. Winner Game 24 (Gold Medal Game)

Groups and NBA/G League Players

Group A

Brazil: Didi Louzada (free agent, played with the Portland Trail Blazers last season)
Uruguay
Colombia
Canada: Dalano Banton (Toronto Raptors)

Group B

Virgin Islands
Puerto Rico: Ethan Thompson (Windy City Bulls)
Dominican Republic
Argentina: Luca Vildoza (Milwaukee Bucks), Leandro Bolmaro (Utah Jazz), Facundo Campazzo (free agent, played with Denver Nuggets last two seasons)

Group C

Mexico
Venezuela
Panama
United States: Frank Mason III (Wisconsin Herd), Anthony Lamb (Rio Grande Valley Vipers), Patrick McCaw (Delaware Blue Coats), Zylan Cheatham (Birmingham Squadron), Gary Clark (Birmingham Squadron), Will Davis II (College Park Skyhawks), Jodie Meeks (Raptors 905), Jeremy Pargo (Windy City Bulls), Craig Sword (Capital City Go-Go), Elijah Pemberton (Santa Cruz Warriors)

Tournament Schedule

The action tips off on Sept. 2 with the group phase, followed by the knockout phase on Sept. 8. Check out FIBA.com for complete scores and stats. All games will be played at Geraldão Arena in Recife, Brazil.