At 7:10 p.m. ET Sunday in Buenos Aires, incoming Duke basketball center Patrick Ngongba II, 2025 Blue Devil offer holder Nate Ament, and the USA Basketball U18 National Team will compete for the FIBA AmeriCup gold medal via their championship bout against Argentina.
In addition to replays of Team USA’s 3-0 domination in group play plus its quarterfinal and semifinal wins, FIBA – The Basketball Channel has posted the livestream link for USA vs. Argentina on YouTube.
Despite their five-star ratings, neither Ngongba nor Ament has seen heavy loads of playing time. That said, only two of the 12 players on the roster are averaging over 20 minutes per game, and none are averaging less than eight.
And it’s not as though the U.S. squad is struggling. No, the stacked bunch’s closest contest was an 88-66 opening win over Argentina in group play on Monday.
In Saturday’s 107-69 semifinal victory over Canada, Ngongba tallied two points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal, two blocks, and zero turnovers in only 11 minutes off the bench. Ament, who has been on the Duke basketball wishlist since his visit to Durham in September, logged only seven minutes against the Canadians, totaling two points and two blocks.
Later this month, Ngongba will arrive at Duke for summer school and offseason workouts alongside his new teammates. The Blue Devils welcome five other members of the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class, along with four inbound transfers, and they’ll join returning scholarship players Tyrese Proctor, Caleb Foster, and Spencer Hubbard, as well as returning walk-ons Stanley Borden and Neal Begovich.