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DeMatha High School junior Quinn Cook was among the primary reasons the USA Basketball U-16 National Team won all five games and took home the gold medal at last weekend's FIBA Americas Championships in Mendoza, Argentina.

The U.S. team capped the tournament with a 101-87 victory over previously unbeaten Argentina in the championship game.

Cook, a Bowie resident, played 35 of 40 minutes as the point guard for Team USA, scoring 22 points with five rebounds, two steals and one assist against Argentina. Cook connected on 8 of 23 shots from the floor, including 1 of 6 from 3-point range and 5 of 8 free-throw attempts. Cook was second on the team behind St. Louis native Brad Beal, who had 26 points on 9 of 18 shooting from the floor, including 7 of 14 from beyond the arc.

"Quinn played extremely well throughout the tournament," said DeMatha coach Mike Jones. "We gave him a few days off from practice and I know he's coming to our summer league games this week to watch from the bench. It was a great experience for him."

Cook was the 10th-leading scorer in the eight-nation tournament, averaging 15.6 points per game, and he led all players in assists with 25. He also averaged 3.6 rebounds per game. The U.S., Argentina and Canada will represent the Americas region in next summer's FIBA U-17 World Championships in Hamburg, Germany. Canada won the third-place game on Sunday, beating Venezuela, 106-81.

"It was just an unbelievable experience," said Cook, who will rejoin DeMatha's summer league team for a 9 p.m. game tonight against Eleanor Roosevelt High in the Rock League at High Point High. "When we walked down the streets, people would ask us for our autographs. That game against Argentina was a redemption game. We were reminded how the Argentina team beat our U-18 team last year. That was great playing in front of that type of atmosphere. It got me prepared for playing against anything here."

Jones spent last weekend at the University of Virginia where another Bowie resident, Stags' rising senior Jerian Grant, participated in the NBA Players' Association Top 100 Camp. Jones noted that Grant was among the top 12-15 shooting guards at a camp that featured 25 of the top guards in the country.

"He played very well," Jones said of Grant. "He's not one of those players that's going to get a lot of attention in a camp like that because he's much more of a team player. He's an excellent shooter and he did well, but he's not flashy and he's never going to stand out in a situation like that. He's a tremendous team player and an excellent shooter."

E-mail Ted Black at tblack@gazette.net.