THE 1987 PAN AMERICAN GAMES : Roundup : U.S. Men and Women Win Team Handball

A goal by U.S. team handball captain Jim Story with one second left in regulation tied the game and the U.S. team scored the final two goals of overtime to beat Cuba, 34-32, for the Pan American Games gold medal and a spot in the 1988 Olympics.

After the game, a brief scuffle broke out between members of the United States and Cuban teams. Police broke up the fight and the U.S. team left the floor to line up for the march into the gym for the medal ceremony.

The ceremony was held up, however, for more than 20 minutes when the Cuban team refused to leave their bench. The Cubans were eventually persuaded to participate in the medal ceremony by delegation chief Alberto Juantorena.

The U.S. women’s team also won the gold, beating Canada, 22-20, on a goal by Sherry Winn with 19 seconds remaining. The women’s team also qualified for the Olympics with the win.

In the men’s game, the United States trailed for much of the second half and was behind, 28-27, after a goal by Cuba’s Luis Delisle with 17 seconds left.

A shot by Bob Djokovich sailed over the net, but the U.S. got the ball back with six seconds left and set up the goal by Story, who eluded a Cuban defender and fired in a shot from the side to send the game into overtime.

“I’m still in shock,” said Story, at 35 the oldest member of the American team. “You work so hard to get here, it’s just unbelievable.”

U.S. Coach Javier Garcia said the win before 5,121 screaming fans at the Hoosier Dome was the greatest thing that ever happened to handball in the U.S. It was the largest U.S. crowd ever to watch the American team play.

In the women’s game, the Canadians trailed, 20-17, with 8:19 to go, but rallied to tie the score 20-20 on a penalty goal by Michelle Levasseur with 35 seconds left.

The Canadians then went into a spread defense, pressuring the ball, and Winn broke through the middle past two defenders to score from short range.

Maureen Latterner of Colorado Springs, Colo., then forced a turnover and scored on a breakaway to clinch the victory with four seconds remaining.

Canada won the silver medal but was eliminated from Olympic contention. Brazil got the bronze.

Willie Anderson and Jerome (Pooh) Richardson each scored 13 points Sunday to lead the U.S. basketball team into the semifinals with a 105-81 win over Uruguay.

The win was the closest of the five for the undefeated U.S. team, which has an average margin of victory of 29.2 in the tournament.

The United States will play Puerto Rico (4-1) Thursday night. Puerto Rico advanced with a 78-77 win over Panama.

In volleyball, Peru consistently found holes in the U.S. defense and defeated the American women, 12-15, 15-5, 15-10, 15-5.

In the other game, Ana Ramos had five of her 23 kills in the final game as Brazil rallied from a five-point deficit to defeat Canada and earn a place in the medal round. The scores were 15-7, 15-4, 15-12.

American rowers dominated the final day of competition, winning five of eight gold medals, with Paul Fuchs of Greenwich, Conn., giving the United States the Games’ medals record.

Fuchs’ win in the single sculls gave the United States 285 medals.