GUADALAJARA, Mexico - Philippe Beaudry added to Canada's medal haul at the Pan American Games on Wednesday, winning gold by the closest of margins.

He successfully defended his title with a 15-14 win over American Timothy Morehouse in the individual sabre final while teammate Joseph Polossifakis -- also of Montreal -- earned a bronze.

"The last touch, it was very intense but I was able to make it," Beaudry said.

It was Canada's second gold medal of the day. The women's K4 500-metre squad of Kathleen Fraser of Oakville, Ont., Kristin Gauthier of Ottawa, Alexa Irvin of Kentville, N.S., and Una Lounder of Dartmouth, N.S., finished first in one minute 37.724 seconds.

Mexico took silver in 1:37.799, just 0.075 seconds back, while Cuba was third in 1:39.105.

"It was a really good race for us," Lounder said. "At the end, we weren't even sure if we won, and we were so excited when we saw it was gold."

"I raced in the K4 last year at the Pan Am championships and finished out of the medals, so I'm happy with this result. This is really great to start off on a high note and we are looking forward to cheering on the rest of the team."

Meanwhile, Edmonton's Angela Whyte won silver in the women's 100-metre hurdles and Kristina Vaculik of Whitby, Ont., took bronze in women's all-around artistic gymnastics. Boxer Mian Hussain of Montreal settled for bronze after losing to Mexico's Oscar Molina.

Whyte finished second in the hurdles with a time of 13.09 seconds. Yvette Lewis of the U.S. was first in 12.82 seconds, while Lina Flores of Colombia equalled Whyte's time of 13.09 seconds in taking third.

"It was not my best race, but I'm happy," Whyte said. "I wanted to win a medal for the team and for my country. Next year is important, with the Olympics. We have five good girls in this event for the 2012 Olympic Games and only three spots are available."

"I want one of those spots."

Vaculik won bronze in women's all-around artistic gymnastics with 54.775 points.

Bridgette Caquatto of the U.S. won gold with 55.875 points, while Guatemala's Ana Sofia Gomez was second with 55.425 points. Toronto's Christine Lee was fourth with a score of 54.575.

There was a scary moment when Peru's Sandra Collantes was injured in a fall from the uneven bars. Collantes was taken away on a stretcher and her condition was not immediately known. Assistant venue manager Jose Tapia said she had leg, neck and back injuries but did not offer further details.

At the Expo Guadalajara Arena, Hussain dropped a 14-7 decision to Molina in the men's 69-kilogram semifinal. Quebec City native Sandra Bizier and Mary Spencer of Windsor, Ont., were scheduled to compete later Wednesday night.

Canada locked up a berth in the women's water polo final with a 15-9 victory over Cuba.

Montreal's Marina Radu scored four times in the first half to give Canada an 8-3 lead. Cuba fought back to make it a two-goal game before Canada pulled ahead with three goals by Calgary's Emily Csikos and a pair by Joelle Bekhazi of Hamilton, Ont.

The U.S. crushed Brazil 13-1 in the other semifinal. Canada will play the Americans for gold on Friday.

"It was closer than we liked," Canadian head coach Patrick Oaten said. "I just think we were so focused on the U.S. and the final, that we didn't pay attention to little details today.

In the preliminary round men's basketball opener, Canada rallied to upset Argentina 83-79 in overtime. Philip Scrubb of Richmond, B.C., led all scorers with 35 points.

The Canadians trailed by nine points heading into the fourth quarter, but Scrubb hit a three-pointer down the stretch to send the game into overtime.

Scrubb finished 8-for-15 from behind the three-point line.

"We made plays when it mattered and made some important foul shots in the overtime," said Dave Smart, Canada's head coach. "Phil made some plays in crucial moments and played very well after the first four minutes, but we dominated them on the boards. We out-rebounded them 46-28 and that's really what did it.

"They probably outplayed us in every other facet but we did a lot of the hard work to keep ourselves in the game."

Ottawa's Tyson Hinz added 13 points for Canada, while Nicolas Laprovittola led four Argentines in double figures with 16.

Canada, which has never won a medal in men's basketball at the Pan Am Games, faces host Mexico on Thursday and then favourite Puerto Rico on Friday.

Canada lost 4-2 to the U.S. in the women's field hockey semifinal. Brienne Stairs of Kitchener, Ont., had both goals for the Canadians, who take on Chile for bronze Friday.

The men's national team will take on Cuba in semifinal play Thursday morning. The winner will play for gold on Saturday.

Rueben Ross of Regina and Eric Sehn of Edmonton finished sixth in the men's synchronized three-metre springboard final.