Former Gonzaga forward leads Dominican Republic to 3-0 record in AmeriCup

Former Gonzaga forward Angel Nunez led the Dominican Republic to a win over Nicaragua on Monday in AmeriCup, scoring 17 points with eight rebounds and a pair of blocks in the 74-70 victory.

The win gave the Dominican Republic a 3-0 record and a first-place finish in Group C, which included Argentina (2-1), Colombia (1-2) and Nicaragua (0-3).

Nunez's former teammate at Gonzaga, Kyle Wiltjer, is on the roster for Canada, who finished 3-0 in Group B with wins over Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Panama.

Through group play, Nunez is averaging 11 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 71.4% on twos and 43.8% from three. The 6'7 forward stepped up in a big way on Monday in the absence San Antonio Spurs forward David Jones, who averaged 21 points and 8.5 rebounds in the Dominican Republic's first two games before an altercation against Argentina resulted in the former Memphis Tiger being served a two game suspension from FIBA.

Nunez is a familiar face for FIBA fans, as he has represented the Dominican Republic multiple times dating back to 2016. This is his third AmeriCup after he appeared in one game in 2017 and two games in 2022. He was also on the DR roster that attempted to qualify for the Olympics in 2021 and again in 2024, where he averaged 10.3 points and 4.3 rebounds before a loss to Croatia ended those hopes before he could reunite with Mark Few in Paris.

Gonzaga basketball players — March 22, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Domantas Sabonis (11), forward Angel Nunez (2) and guard Kyle Dranginis (3) react during the 87-68 victory against Iowa Hawkeyes. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Nunez began his college career at Louisville, appearing in 11 games in 2011-12 before transferring to Gonzaga and sitting out the 2012-13 season. He then appeared in 22 games for the Bulldogs in 2013-14, averaging 3.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.2 minutes per night.

He returned for his junior year and put up similar numbers, averaging 2.7 points and 1.9 rebounds in 6.3 minutes before joining South Florida in 2015-16 as a grad transfer, where he broke out as a starter playing 29 minutes per game and averaging 9.5 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Bulls.

For the past decade, Nunez has made stops in the G-League, France, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Israel, Greece, Poland, Spain, and the Dominican Republic. Prior to joining the DR for AmeriCup, Nunez was playing for Leyma Coruña in Spain, appearing in seven games and averaging 2.3 points.

The AmeriCup quarterfinals get underway in Managua, Nicaragua on Thursday, Aug. 28, with matchups and game times to be determined for both Canada and the Dominican Republic.

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