U.S. Men's And Women's Youth Olympic Games Teams Each Go To 2-0

U.S. Men Best Israel, 27-20; U.S. Women Sink Singapore, 34-11

Colorado Springs, Colo. • August 16, 2010

• Men's Box Score

• Women's Box Score

• Quotes: Men | Women

Sterling Gibbs (Seton Hall Prep/Scotch Plains, N.J.) and Kiah Stokes (Linn-Mar H.S./Marion, Iowa) each came up big in their own ways for the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Youth Olympic Games Teams on Monday in Singapore.

Gibbs scored a game-high 12 points and hit a crucial 3-pointer with about 30 seconds left to lift the U.S. men (2-0) to a 27-20 victory over Israel (0-1) in a Group C preliminary round game. Meanwhile, Stokes scored 19 points in just eight minutes, and the U.S. women (2-0) won, 34-11, over host country Singapore (0-2) in a preliminary round Group B game.

“(Gibbs) takes over and wants the ball in crucial situations. He’s done that time and time again in practice, but this was the first opportunity he’s had in a game,” said U.S. men’s head coach Eric Flannery (St. Edward H.S., Ohio). “And he stepped up in a big moment. That’s why he is the team captain.”

“It’s a pleasant surprise,” U.S. women’s head coach Kathy Richey-Walton (Southwest DeKalb H.S., Ga.) said of Stokes’ play. “She’s a big girl, and she realized what her strengths are. Today, she had even more confidence in going inside and being physical. Now, we’ll try to get her to build on that and realize she can be a force inside.”

Stokes shot 9-of-12 from the field for her second dominant game in a row. Stokes scored 12 points in the U.S. women’s win over Angola on Sunday.

Overall, the U.S. women shot 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) from the field. Briyona Canty (Trenton Catholic Academy/Willingboro, N.J.) and Andraya Carter (Buford H.S./Flowery Branch, Ga.) each shot 3-of-3 from the field for six points, and each grabbed two rebounds. Canty had five assists, while Carter had two blocks. Amber Henson (Sickles H.S./Tampa, Fla.) added three points, an assist, a steal and a block.

After rain delayed the start of the men’s game by about 10 minutes (the venue, *scape Youth Place, is outdoors), the U.S. men took a 13-5 lead after the first half. But Israel rallied to get within two points at 22-20 with around 30 seconds left. Gibbs then hit his second 3-pointer of the game on the next possession, solidifying the win for the U.S.

Gibbs, who also had six rebounds, shot 3-of-6 from the field, hit both of his 3-point attempts and made all four of his free throws. Angelo Chol (Herbert Hoover H.S./San Diego, Calif.) followed with eight points, six rebounds and two blocks, while Brandan Kearney (Detroit Southeastern H.S./Detroit, Mich.) scored four points and K.C. Caudill (Brea Olinda H.S./Brea, Calif.) scored three.  

The U.S. men have an off day Aug. 17 and play their next preliminary round game against host Singapore on Aug. 18 at 10 a.m. (all times Singapore local, which is +12 hours from Eastern Daylight Time). The U.S. women return to preliminary round action against Germany on Aug. 17 at 9:30 a.m.

2010 Youth Olympic Games

Scheduled to take place every four years, the inaugural Youth Olympic Games men's and women's 3-on-3 basketball competition will feature a total of 40 teams from 38 different countries.

The basketball competition will be played on a half-court in two, five-minute periods. The first team to score 33 points, or the team with the most points at the end of regulation, wins. Each team operates with a 10-second shot clock, and the ball must be brought out behind the 3-point line to score. The player who first gets the ball over the 3-point line, though, has to make one additional pass before a basket can count.

The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games are expected to include as many as 5,000 athletes and officials participating from 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), along with an estimated 1,200 media representatives, 20,000 local and international volunteers and more than 500,000 spectators. Athletes 14 to 18 years old are eligible to compete in 26 sports and take part in cultural and educational programs.