Teenage figure skating sensation Ilia Malinin had a disappointing fifth-place finish in the men's free skate, but the United States completed a wire-to-wire World Team Trophy victory Saturday.
The Americans dominated the six-nation team competition with 120 points from eight events over three days at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, while South Korea edged Japan 95 to 94 for second place, buoyed by men's free skate winner Cha Jun Hwan.
Italy, France and Canada finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
The United States had built a commanding lead before Malinin and Jason Brown took the ice in the last event of the meet. It was the second win in three World Team Trophy meets and the fifth overall for the United States.
Cha scored 187.82 points, 0.47 clear of second-place Matteo Rizzo of Italy. Japan's Shun Sato and Kazuki Tomono could only manage eighth- and ninth-place finishes, respectively, in the absence of world champion Shoma Uno, who is nursing a right ankle injury.
Earlier in the day, Americans Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier won the pairs free skate, outpointing Japan's world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara 147.87 to 143.69.
Each team was composed of eight skaters. Two men and two women competed in singles, with one pair and one ice dance couple also skating.
Related coverage:
Figure skating: U.S. in command, Japan 3rd at World Team Trophy
Figure skating: U.S. on top, Japan 3rd after World Team Trophy Day 1
