Double gold-medalists Ott DeFoe and Drew Gill led the way as Team USA overcame a substantial final-day deficit to Italy Saturday en route to winning the 19th edition of the Black Bass World Championships at Arabie Dam in South Africa.

The three U.S. duos finished 1st, 3rd and 9th on the Day-3 standings sheet for a total of just 13 “penalties” (the sum of the duos’ finishes – the lower the number, the better). The Americans trailed Italy by 19 penalties entering the final round, but ended up prevailing as they finished with 80.5 for the event compared to the Italians’ 92.5.

Australia claimed the bronze medal with 138 penalties. Other participating countries (in order of team finish) were South Africa, Spain, Zimbabwe, Germany, Eswatini, Namibia, Portugal, Canada, Mozambique, Croatia, Serbia and Mexico.

Italy led after each of the first two days, with the U.S. in 2nd. The margin after Day 1 was 24.5 penalties, but DeFoe and Gill caught the event’s heaviest five-fish bag (23.88 pounds) on Day 2 to claim the No. 1 position for the day and narrow the gap in the team standings headed into the final round.

The DeFoe/Gill tandem was again the top-performing pair in the 45-boat field on the final day with a 22.07 stringer topped by a 7 1/4-pound specimen. Jacob Wheeler and Kyle Welcher were 3rd with 19.29 (6 1/2-pound kicker) and Logan Parks and Scott Martin were 9th with 13.34.

“Our team got stronger every day,” said Team USA coach Kevin Van Dam, who selected the squad and formulated the pairings. “When you fish for three days, consistency shines and the cream rises to the top, and that’s what happened.

“This is a unique format and all three teams have to do well. Our guys worked really well together as a group and shared everything that was going on; we had really great team camaraderie and that’s something I’m really proud of.”

DeFoe and Gill captured the duos gold medal with 11.5 penalties. The other two medals in that category were claimed by Italian pairings – Leonardo Benassi/Allessio Ticciati took the silver with 14 and Luca Vittorio Della Ciana/Jimmy Ashlock grabbed the bronze with 28.

Wheeler and Welcher were 6th in the final duos standings (34) and Parks and Martin were 8th (35).

DeFoe and Gill were the only tandem to average more than 20 pounds per day on the 3,200-acre Olifants River impoundment (also known as Flag Boshielo Dam) in the province of Limpopo. Their 61.75-pound total for the event was more than eight pounds clear of the 53.42 racked up by Benassi and Ticciati.

September is springtime in South Africa (the equivalent of March in the U.S.) and the bass in Arabie were in one stage or another of the annual spawning rite. Some were on the beds and some had already been there and departed, while the majority seemed on the precipice of selecting a shallow-water locale and locking down.

Gill and DeFoe focused on cruising fish to compile their massive Day-2 haul, which included a 7.21-pound kicker.

The Italians bolted to their big early lead with placements of 2nd, 5th and 7th on Day 1. The American boats were tied for 9th, 13th and 15th as Gill and DeFoe weighed 15.81 pounds, Parks and Martin had 15.41 and Wheeler and Welcher amassed 13.91.

“Even though they were 2nd after Day 1, they were a little disappointed,” VanDam said of his squad. “But that’s just the way fishing is there – you have to out-fish everybody else who’s doing the same thing.”

The mega-haul from Gill and DeFoe shook things up on Day 2, while Parks/Martin and Wheeler/Welcher landed in almost the identical positions they’d staked in the previous round. The former pairing was 13th (13.71) and the latter was 15th (13.23).

The U.S. triumph was a measure of redemption in the wake of last year’s disappointing 4th-place finish in Italy.

“Our guys knew they had to go out and do the job on the final day, and that’s exactly what they did,” VanDam concluded.

The U.S. will host next year’s World Championships at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Ark.