| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Uruguay |
| City | Montevideo |
| Dates | 21–31 August |
| Teams | 10 |
| Venue | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  United States (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |  Puerto Rico |
| Third place |  Brazil |
| Fourth place |  Argentina |
←1995 1999 → | |
The1997 Tournament of the Americas, later known as theFIBA Americas Championship and theFIBA AmeriCup, was abasketball championship hosted byUruguay from 21 to 31, August 1997. The games were played inMontevideo. ThisFIBA AmeriCup was to earn the four berths allocated to the Americas for the1998 FIBA World Championship inAthens,Greece. TheUnited States won the tournament, the country's third AmeriCup championship.
Eight teams qualified during the qualification tournaments held in their respective zones in 1997; two teams (USA and Canada) qualified automatically since they are the only members of the North America zone.
Canada, United States
Cuba,
Dominican Republic,
Mexico, Puerto Rico Argentina, Brazil,
Uruguay,
VenezuelaThe draw split the tournament into two groups:
Group A | Group B
|
| Qualified for the quarterfinals |
| Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Tie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 4 | 3 | 1 | 317 | 284 | +33 | 7 | 1–0 |
| Brazil | 4 | 3 | 1 | 328 | 297 | +31 | 7 | 0–1 |
| Cuba | 4 | 2 | 2 | 307 | 290 | +17 | 6 | 1–0 |
| Uruguay | 4 | 2 | 2 | 297 | 308 | −11 | 6 | 0–1 |
| Mexico | 4 | 0 | 4 | 282 | 352 | −70 | 4 |
| Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Tie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 4 | 3 | 1 | 403 | 362 | +41 | 7 | 1–1 (0.527) |
| United States | 4 | 3 | 1 | 368 | 334 | +34 | 7 | 1–1 (0.524) |
| Venezuela | 4 | 3 | 1 | 365 | 357 | +8 | 7 | 1–1 (0.506) |
| Puerto Rico | 4 | 1 | 3 | 330 | 353 | −23 | 5 | |
| Dominican Republic | 4 | 0 | 4 | 320 | 380 | −60 | 4 |
| Qualified for the semifinals |
The top four teams in both Group A and Group B advanced to the quarterfinal group. Then each team played the four from the other group once to complete a full round robin. Records from the preliminary groups carried over. The top two teams advanced to the first place game and the third and fourth-place teams advanced to the third place game. The fifth-place team (Cuba) and the sixth-place team (Canada) did not continue competing for the Americas Championship, but played a further game against each other, with the winner qualifying for the1998 FIBA World Championship.
| Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Tie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 8 | 7 | 1 | 750 | 673 | +77 | 15 | |
| Puerto Rico | 8 | 5 | 3 | 722 | 679 | +43 | 13 | 1−0 |
| Brazil | 8 | 5 | 3 | 680 | 637 | +43 | 13 | 0−1 |
| Argentina | 8 | 4 | 4 | 650 | 626 | +24 | 12 | 2−1 (0.509) |
| Cuba | 8 | 4 | 4 | 666 | 681 | −15 | 12 | 2−1 (0.494) |
| Canada | 8 | 4 | 4 | 699 | 687 | +12 | 12 | 1−2 (0.504) |
| Venezuela | 8 | 4 | 4 | 708 | 716 | −8 | 12 | 1−2 (0.497) |
| Uruguay | 8 | 3 | 5 | 602 | 648 | −46 | 11 |
| 1997 Tournament of the Americas winners |
|---|
 United States Third title |
| Qualified for the1998 FIBA World Championship | |
| Qualified for the 1998 FIBA World Championship (Olympic Champions) |
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
 | United States | 8–1 |
 | Puerto Rico | 5–4 |
 | Brazil | 6–3 |
| 4 | Argentina | 4–5 |
| 5 | Canada | 5–4 |
| 6 | Cuba | 4–5 |
| 7 | Venezuela | 4–4 |
| 8 | Uruguay | 3–5 |
| 9 | Dominican Republic | 0–4 |
| 10 | Mexico | 0–4 |
