USA BASKETBALL HISTORY
USA MEN’S WORLD CUP TEAM 1963 RESULTS
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL • MAY 12-25, 1963
The tournament was all Brazil as the home team went undefeated to claim its second consecutive World title. The U.S., which was virtually the same team that had gone 6-0 to capture the 1963 Pan American Games gold medal in Sao Paulo just weeks earlier, finished 6-3 and in fourth place. Led by guards Vincent Ernst and Donald Kojis and Willis Reed, the U.S. rallied from a 10-point first half deficit to record an 88-74 victory over Mexico. While Ernst ran the offense, Kojis and Reed finished with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Argentina proved no match for the Americans as the U.S. strolled to an 81-51 victory and Jerry Shipp led the USA attack with 20 points. Lead- ing 42-34 at half, the U.S. fought for its life in the second half against Italy as the Italians rallied to tie the game late. But behind the offense of Shipp and Ernst, who finished with 26 and 19 points, respectively, the U.S. prevailed 87-77. Advancing into the final round-robin, the U.S. was fell 75-73 to Yugoslavia. While the U.S. led by 32-30 half, the game remained a tight affair the entire second half. Tied at 71, Yugoslavia scored four consecutive points to take a 75-71 advantage, a basket by Shipp cut the lead to 75-73 but that’s was as close as the U.S. would get. Kojis led the U.S. with 21 points, while Shipp contributed 17. Trailing France 29-19, the U.S. recovered to take a 36-35 lead to the locker room at half, then, behind a full-court press, blew the game open in the second half and cruised to an 81-61 win. Reed and Walter Torrence each finished with 17 points. In front of 25,000 spectators, USSR reserve Leonid Yvanov scored on a layup with 14 seconds left and the Soviets handed the USA a heart- breaking 75-74 loss. Kojis finished with a U.S. high 15 points. Rebounding from the loss to the USSR, the U.S. got back on the winning track with an 88-64 victory over Puerto Rico. Next, Italy was overrun by the American squad 101-73 as five U.S. players scored in double figures led by Shipp’s 20 and Reed’s 19. Facing Brazil in the final game of the tournament, the USA led for most of the first half, but Brazil rallied to take control in the second half and went on to record an 85-81 victory in front of 25,000 fans. With the victory, Brazil claimed the World title, while Yugoslavia, by virtue of its 69- 67 win over the USSR claimed the silver, and the USSR earned bronze.
1963 USA MEN’S WORLD CUP TEAM ROSTER
1963 USA RESULTS (6-3)
NAME
POS HGT WGT AGE AFFILIATION (SCHOOL)
HOMETOWN
Mexico
W, 88-74 W, 81-51 W, 87-77 L, 73-75 W, 81-61 L, 74-75 W, 88-64 W, 101-73
Argentina
Bunk Adams
G G G G C G G C G G F F
6-3 6-1 5-8 6-3 6-9 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-4 6-10
196 160 165 175 240 215 190 190 240 190 190 190
24 23 21 22 21 23 24 25 21 27 26 26
U. S. Armed Forces (Ohio)
Toledo, OH Alamo, IN
Charles Bowerman Vincent Ernst Melvin Gibson Lucious Jackson Donald Kojis Pete McCaffery Melvin Petersen
Wabash College Providence College
Italy
Jersey City, NJ Cordova, NC Beaumont, TX West Allis, WI Kansas City, MO
Yugoslavia
Western Carolina University Pan American University Phillips 66ers (Marquette) U. S. Armed Forces (Wheaton) Grambling State University Phillips 66ers (SW Okla. St.) U. S. Armed Forces (Evansville) St. Louis University U. S. Armed Forces (UCLA)
France
Soviet Union Puerto Rico
Wallace, MI Bernice, LA
Italy
Willis Reed Jerry Shipp
Brazil
L, 81-85
Blue, OK
Edgar Smallwood Walter Torrence
Louisville, KY Sacramento, CA
FINAL STANDINGS
HEAD COACH: Garland Pinholster, Oglethorpe University (GA) ASSISTANT COACH: Hank Vaughn, Goodyear Wingfoots
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Brazil (6-0)
MANAGER: M. K. (Bill) Summers (AAU) ATHLETIC TRAINER: Whitey Gwynne CAPTAIN: Donald Kojis
Yugoslavia (5-1) Soviet Union (4-2) United States (3-3)
France (2-4)
1963 USA MEN’S WORLD CUP TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
Puerto Rico (1-5)
Italy (0-6)
NAME
G/S
FGM-A
PCT
FTM-A
PCT
REB
PTS
Argentina (4-1)
9. Mexico (3-2)* 10. Uruguay (3-2)* 11. Canada (3-2)*
Shipp Kojis Reed
9 9 9 9 9 9 8 9 7 6 5 4 9 9
64- 53- 42- 27- 31- 26- 26- 21- 16-
13- 16- 11- 25- 14- 14-
141/ 15.7 122/ 13.6 95/ 10.6 79/ 8.8
12. Peru (2-2) 13. Japan (0-5) *Final standings determined by point differential between tied teams.
Torrence Jackson
76/ 8.4 66/ 7.3 53/ 6.6 52/ 5.8 33/ 4.7 16/ 2.7 17/ 3.4 4/ 1.0
Ernst
Petersen Gibson McCaffery Bowerman Smallwood
1-
10-
1- 4- 9- 0-
6- 4- 2-
Adams
USA TOTALS OPP. TOTALS
318- 257-
118- 121-
754/ 83.8 635/ 70.6
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