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Canada vs. Puerto Rico and USA vs. Argentina in the Semi-Finals of the FIBA U16 Americas Championship

FORMOSA (FIBA U16 Americas Championship) – The Semi-Finals of the FIBA U16 Americas Championship will see Canada take on Puerto Rico and USA take on Argentina after the results of Day 3 of the continental championship.

USA took the top of Group B after a 127-52 win over Mexico. The Defending Champs escaped to an early lead of 30-15 after the first quarter. The team coached by Don Showalter started to show its versatility and defensive pressure and produced a 40-5 quarter. Mexico had better production during the third quarter, but USA kept adding while shooting for a 59% from the field and scoring 78 points from the painted area. Nine players from the USA scored in the double digits, and Zion Harmon led the offensive with 17 points.

Puerto Rico won a spot in the Semi-Finals of the FIBA U16 Americas Championship after defeating Caribbean rival the Dominican Republic 94-88. Led offensively by powerhouse David Jones, the Dominicans escaped to a 23-18 lead at the end of the first quarter. With Andre Curbelo on point and leading the way to a 26-point performance, the Puerto Ricans created a 12-1 lead to take a 6-point lead beginning the second quarter. Puerto Rico shot for a 47% from the field and took advantage of the Dominicans error on offense to stay ahead on the scoreboard. During the fourth quarter, the Dominicans got within one point of the Puerto Ricans after a three-pointer from Emmanuel Rodriguez, but from the free-throw line the Boricuas secured the win and the qualification. Curbelo led the way for the Puerto Ricans with 26 points, and for the Dominicans David Jones was huge with a 34-point and 10-rebound “double-double”.

Canada ended the group phase of the FIBA U16 Americas Championship with a 3-0 record and the top of Group A after a 80-43 win over Venezuela. The Canadians jumped right into the game with a 23-7 first quarter, while shooting for a 50% from the field. Led offensively by Taryn Todd, the Canadians hit 8 three-pointers and scored 44 points from the paint. Venezuela came out feisty in the second half, but the Canadians took full advantage of the height difference and took the ball to the paint, to assure the win and the top of Group A. Taryn Todd scored 13 points and was the leading voice in the Canadians offensive.

Argentina secured the last spot in the Semi-Finals of the FIBA U16 Americas Championship with a 71-52 win over Paraguay. The first quarter belonged to the Paraguayans, as the team went small and took advantage of its quickness in transitions for a 18-11 first quarter. The teams battled evenly through the remainder of the first half, and Paraguay went into half-time with a 6-point lead. Argentina improved on rhythm and with its characteristic play, the team closed in and took the advantage on the scoreboard. With two three-pointers in a row, Argentina took a 10-point advantage to secure the win and the qualification to the Semi-Finals of the FIBA U16 Americas Championship.  The top scorer for Argentina was Bautista Lugarini with 17 points.

Tomorrow on the Reclassification Round, Paraguay will take on Mexico and the Dominican Republic will take on Venezuela.

Meanwhile in the Semi-Finals, Canada will take on Puerto Rico and USA will take on Argentina.

Because of Argentina’s qualification to the Semi-Finals of the FIBA U16 Americas Championship, the team that finishes in the fifth position will also qualify to the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup, as Argentina is guaranteed a spot as Host of the global U17 event

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To watch all games live go to YouTube.com/FIBA and Facebook.com/FIBA.

FIBA