CALI (Colombia) — Rising star Augustin Ubal led Uruguay to a comeback 88-84 victory against Paraguay at the final window of the 2022 AmeriCup qualifiers in Cali, Colombia on Sunday afternoon. After struggling in the first half, the 17-year-old point guard helped Uruguay (3-2) score 30 points in the third quarter while Paraguay only scored 9.

Despite being the underdog, Paraguay (0-5) got out to an early thanks to forcing 5 Uruguay turnovers in the first four minutes of the game and strong finishing at the rim. In the second quarter, Uruguay continued to cough up the basketball, allowing Paraguay to take a 11-point lead two minutes into the quarter.

Because Paraguay struggled at the free throw line, shooting a dismal 57 percent, Uruguay was only down by 8 at the half 46-38. At the end of two quarters, Uruguay had 14 turnovers and shot 33 percent from the field while Paraguay shot 67 percent. Marcos Cabot kept Uruguay in the game with 14 points.

While Uruguay continued to turn the ball over in the beginning of the third quarter, finally, with around 5 minutes left in the quarter, Uruguay took their first lead of the game behind Ubal and point guard Marcos Cabot. Then, Uruguay quickly jumped out to a 12-point lead after Paraguay could not capitalize on offense.

At the start of the fourth, Paraguay came out playing aggressive defense, cutting the lead to 3 points with five minutes remaining in the game. However, Uruguay did not back down and built their lead back up to 7 with a minute remaining after a clutch 3 by Cabot. Cabot finished the game with 22 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds

Although Uruguay gave up the ball 24 times and 52 points in the paint, they came out on top. 13 offensive rebounds were instrumental in Uruguay’s win over Paraguay, leading to 13 second chance points in comparison to Paraguay’s 3. Small forward Edgar Riveros led Paraguay with 17 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds.

Paraguay is officially eliminated as Uruguay, Brazil and Panama all qualify for next year’s tournament out of Group B.

FIBA