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VALDIVIA, Chile (AP) - Tina Thompson scored 18 points to help the United States qualify for the 2008 Olympics with a 101-71 victory over Cuba on Sunday in the gold medal game at the FIBA Americas tournament.
The U.S. (5-0) was forced to qualify for an Olympics berth for the first time since 1980 because of a third-place finish at the World Championships last year.
"It's a huge relief for us that we could win and punch the ticket to Beijing," USA Basketball president Val Ackerman said. "They did a terrific job. We had so many late arrivals to camp, it's great that the players did what they needed to do."
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