For U.S., It’s Another Gold-Medal Haul

The United States basketball players got their gold medals and said to each other: “See you in Sydney.”

Gary Payton led the way with 19 points as the United States won the gold medal game of the Tournament of the Americas on Sunday night, withstanding a mild push from Canada early in the second half and going on to an easy 92-66 victory.

The United States and Canada qualified for the 2000 Olympics in Australia with semifinal victories Saturday.

“We can go home,” Steve Smith said. “If we hadn’t qualified, we wouldn’t have been able to go back to the United States.”

The United States won its 10 games in the tournament by an average of 31.6 points, down slightly from the 1996 Olympians’ average margin of 32.3.