United States basketball royalty showed up in Portland on Saturday night to watch the next generation of basketball stars play at the Nike Hoop Summit.
Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Sylvia Fowles were among those sitting courtside for Team USA’s pair of wins in the women’s game and men’s games.
It was the third year that the event held a women’s game, and Team USA entered the matchup 2-0. A 17-10 final quarter for the USA women sealed an 88-78 victory over Team World in the first game of the doubleheader.
“I think we’re all just super competitive people in general, so we don’t want to lose no matter what we’re doing,” forward Jazzy Davidson said. “I feel like that really came out in the fourth quarter, and we just kind of rallied together, and everyone played their role really well.
UCLA commit Sienna Betts and Duke commit Emilee Skinner combined for 10 of Team USA’s 12 points early in the first quarter. Team World stayed close behind, with France’s Sarah Cisse becoming the first player to record double digits in the game with 8:45 left in the half.
The Americans built a double-digit advantage in the second quarter, but it didn’t take long for Team World to cut it back to one possession heading into the half.
Davidson (No. 3 recruit; USC) heated up toward the end of the first half. Davidson, from Clackamas High School in Oregon, received a loud ovation in pregame introductions and every time she found the bottom of the net.
“Having one last game here in my home state is really special to me,” Jazzy Davidson said after practice on Friday. “I definitely don’t take it for granted because I know some really elite players who have came through here haven’t had the same opportunity.”
Davidson sparked a late-game run in the fourth quarter. The U.S. only held a three-point advantage entering the final period, but a couple of steals and some Davidson layups changed that in the blink of an eye.
“She’s long, can get to the rim, can shoot the 3. Just a dynamic player, good defender,” head coach Dan Rolfes said. “She’s just so well-rounded, and she’s gonna make a heck of a college player.”
Davidson finished the game with 17 points, seven rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks. Betts added 14 points and five steals, while Aaliyah Chavez (No. 1 recruit; Oklahoma) scored 10 points — six of which came from beyond the arc.
The second game of the evening started just as evenly matched as the first. AJ Dybantsa (No. 1 recruit; BYU) drained a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to tie the game at 22. Dybantsa accumulated 10 of his 24 points in his first six minutes on the court.
But Team World started the second quarter on an 8-0 run that forced the U.S. to take time. Shon Abaev (No. 24 recruit; Cincinnati) entered the game and immediately made an impact by converting on a four-point play to put Team World up by four.
Team USA came out of halftime trailing 53-44, but motivated to cut into the deficit. Cameron Boozer (No. 3 recruit; Duke) scored 10 of his 22 points in the third quarter.
“We have a great group of guys and coach challenges to have time to be a tougher team, because in the first half, they were under way more than we did,” Boozer said. “I think we came on second half, and we were the tougher team, and that’s vital.“
Dybantsa, meanwhile, wowed the crowd with multiple monstrous dunks to add to the momentum and flip the game to a 13-point U.S. advantage.
Team World increased its defensive intensity in the fourth. A traveling call against Team USA had Team World head coach Marshall Cho pumped up on the sidelines, warranting a sideline warning.
Tounde Yessoufou (No. 15 recruit; Baylor) buried a 3-pointer to pull the World within one with 2:22 left. It was the start of a chaotic sequence of events that included Team World tying up the game following a foul on a 3-point attempt.
The two sides traded buckets, but Team World couldn’t capitalize on an opportunity to take the lead with nine seconds left. It intentionally fouled Boozer, who missed his second free-throw attempt. Yessoufou stormed down the court and flipped in a layup before the buzzer sounded to send it to overtime.
“I think this world team roster was the most disrespected team all week. There’s going to be six or seven NBA players from this roster, and it made it seem like we’re some scrimmage squad I put together,” Cho said. “These are some of the best players in the world, and they’ve overcome a lot to get here…That fourth quarter only happened because we had been connected all week.”
Team World couldn’t complete the comeback. Twelve USA-made free throws in overtime sealed the 124-114 victory.
“Reminding all of you that [Nikola] Jokic played here, [Joel] Embiid played here, right? Dirk [Nowitzki], Tony Parker, all these guys, and they need to tap into who they’re representing and understanding that they’re a part of something bigger than themselves,” Cho said. “These guys are gonna go out and make a lot of money in the future, but I want we wanted to give them something that was priceless that they would remember for the rest of their lives.”
