MEXICO CITY (FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship 2018) – The FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship 2018 opened with celebrations from the National Teams of Puerto Rico, Canada, USA and Mexico.

Puerto Rico started the FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship 2018 with a 74-69 win over Chile in Group A action. From the get-go it was a well-fought game, but it was in the third quarter that the Boricuas pulled away on the scoreboard with a 21-12 quarter. Chile cut the difference, but the Puerto Ricans closed the game better to secure the victory. Juliana Rosario led the scoring for Puerto Rico with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Jovanka Ljubetic added 19 points for Chile.

 With a dominant showing, Canada captured its first win of the FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship 2018 after a 73-49 win over Colombia in Group B action. Canada started the game precise and escaped to a 17-9 score after the first 10 minutes of the game. Canada kept adding and never looked back. Christina Morra led the Canadian team with 17 points, as Maria Alvarez added 19 points for the Colombians.

 The defending champions of the FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship started the tournament on the right foot with an 87-42 win over Argentina. With a precise 60% from the field and complete dominance of the paint, the North Americans escaped to a 38-15 lead after the first half. USA shared the ball better and racked-up 22 assists. Aijha Blackwell led the scoring for the team coached by Jeff Walz with 13 points. Camila Suarez was the best scorer for the South Americans with 8 units.

The host of the FIBA U18 Americas Women’s Championship started the competition with a 88-48 win over El Salvador. The Mexicans opened a quick lead with a balanced offensive and complete dominance of the painted area to escape to a 31-12 lead at the end of the first 10 minutes of the game. Mexico stepped on the accelerator and headed to their first win of the continental championship. Adriana Salinas led the scoring for the home team with 14 points, as Kimberly Villalobos scored 18 for El Salvador. 

 Tomorrow on the second day of Group Phase, Chile will face USA, El Salvador will match-up against Canada, Argentina will take-on Puerto Rico and Mexico will face Colombia.

The top four teams from the FIBA U18 Americas Women's Championship 2018 will qualify to the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2019. 

FIBA