SANTIAGO DE CHILE (Chile) - After Bahamas and Cuba advanced out of Group A, the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Pre-Qualifiers continued with the beginning of play in Group B on Tuesday.

Nicaragua, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia are taking center stage this week as two clubs look to clinch a spot in the next qualifying round for a shot to eventually advance to the World Cup.

Here’s how day one of the event turn out in Santiago, Chile:

Nicaragua 76, Paraguay 73
Despite getting outplayed in the paint and struggling to muster points from their bench, Nicaragua began play in Group B with a victory over Paraguay.

It looked like it was about to be a long evening for Nicaragua in the first quarter as they were outscored by seven points and had a difficult time stopping Paraguay from scoring inside. In addition to that rough opening period, they allowed their opponent to score 33 total points off the bench.

Instead of folding, Nicaragua came out firing in the second quarter and rode Jared Ruiz (23 points and 10 rebounds) and Norchad Omier (20 points and the 13 rebounds) the rest of way. Ruiz did a terrific job of drawing fouls (10-of-12 from the free throw line) and while he was shaky in terms of taking care of the ball, the guard finished with a 21 efficiency rating and was a force on the glass at just 6-foot-2. Meanwhile, Omier shot 70% on 2’s and posted a 27 efficiency rating.

If Nicaragua can continue to receive performances of this nature from Ruiz and Omier and find some spark off the bench, the club could be on their way to advancing to the regular qualifiers. On the flip side, Paraguay lost a close one, but if they can build on their successful first quarter, they are capable of giving Chile a run on Wednesday.

Chile 105, Bolivia 52
In a matchup that was total domination from start-to-finish, Chile flexed its muscles as the best team in Group B. The club used a balanced performance that was led by Sebastian Suarez (16 points), Franco Morales (15 points) and former Colorado State star Nicolas Carvacho (nine points and six rebounds).

Credit must go to Chile’s defense, but Bolivia’s offensive production was very disappointing and will likely lead to them finishing in last place if they don’t improve their 3-point shooting.

Chile’s talent, skill and chemistry was on another level compared to Bolivia, and they must be rather pleased this game wasn’t close despite getting an average performance from arguably their best player Carvacho.

With a stellar opening result, Chile can claim that they’re the team to beat and a heavy favorite to reach the qualifiers barring a complete change of events.

FIBA