John Cox, who played at USF from 1999-2005 and ranks as the school's ninth all-time leading scorer, helped Venezuela to a 71-67 upset victory over Argentina in the finals of the FIBA Americas tournament on Saturday, as Venezuela claimed the title for the first time in the country's history.
 
With its semifinal victory over Canada the day before, Venezuela qualified for the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero. It will be the country's first Olympic berth since the 1992 in Barcelona.
 
Cox scored 12 points in the championship game against the favored Argentines, to give Venezuela its first Olympic berth since the 1992 Barcelona game. Venezuela won the championship game despite playing without Greivis Vasquez, a point guard for the Milwaukee Bucks.
 
Cox will become the third USF basketball player to participate in the Olympics, joining legends Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, who led the 1956 United States team to gold in the Melbourne games. Former USF coaches Jimmy Needles and Pete Newell guided the 1936 and 1960 Olympic teams to gold medals.
 
Cox finished his USF career with 1,540 career points, good for ninth place on the school's all-time scoring charts. He also ranks third all-time in games (117) and third in minutes (3510). A first team All-WCC selection as a senior, Cox scored 621 points during the 2004-05 season, a total that ranks eighth on USF's single-season list. The son of former USF point guard John "Chubby" Cox and the cousin of NBA star Kobe Bryant, Cox plays professionally in France for STB Le Havre in the LNB Pro A League.