Venezuela, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina are undefeated after first qualifiers window
BUENOS AIRES (Argentina) - The second day of action from the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Americas Qualifiers first window saw each team from Group A and Group B get a second chance as they replayed the same teams.
Here's what happened as teams continue to fight for a spot at the FIBA Basketball 2023 World Cup.
After getting a taste of how to handle Panama from the day before, Venezuela used the same game plan of jumping to a sustainable lead early in the game to be able to control their destiny. Outscoring their opponent 21-9 in the first quarter, Venezuela’s defensive efforts helped keep Panama at bay as they headed to the second quarter where each squad would score 15 before the half.
Panama had a much better showing in the second half, matching the offensive efforts of Venezuela, but losing the battles on the boards. As Panama allowed fast break and second chance points from Venezuela. The defensive dominance from Venezuela to force turnovers and score in transition secured them a 71-53 win to go 2-0 in Group A.
Pedro Chourio led the offensive effort for Venezuela scoring 13 points, though four different Venezuelan players scored 10 or more points in the win including a double-double from Nestor Colmenares with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Panama’s Ernesto Oglivie once again led all scorers in the game with a 15-point performance on top of 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
After a closer than comfortable win the day prior, Uruguay wanted to make a statement when they faced off against Colombia for a second time. And their first half performance was less than desirable as Colombia completely controlled the game offensively shooting well from mid-range and capitalizing on turnovers to lead by 5 points going into halftime.
Uruguay would find their rhythm in the third quarter, playing gritty defense and controlling the game on the glass to hold Colombia to just 9 points, but it was their 31-point fourth quarter that sealed a 13-point win for Uruguay. The real key to Uruguay’s 82-69 win was their players coming off the bench who contributed 52 points in the win and helped turned the game in the final 10 minutes.
Though Braian Angola had another stellar performance for Colombia with 17 points and 6 rebounds, it was Hansel Atencia’s 22 points that helped Colombia control the offensive rhythm of the game. However, Uruguay’s heroic comeback effort was split between five different players who scored 10 or more points, including Kiril Wachsmann’s double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds to accompany another strong effort from Bruno Fitipaldo who tipped in 13 points in the win.
The second meeting between Brazil and Chile had a back-and-forth battle in the first two quarters, with Brazil maintaining a small lead of 7 points entering halftime. Chile forced turnovers out of their opponent and caused them to commit fouls that saw them in the lead many times throughout the half.
However, if there is one thing Brazil has on top of their talent, is stamina, and their dominance on both sides of the ball was their key to pull away in the second half. They scored 46 points and kept Chile to just 27 to take another win in Group B, 81-55. Brazil’s court vision and load management helped them dominate in rotation as their bench helped propel them to a win.
Chile’s Manuel Suarez scored 17 points and 8 rebounds on top of Sebastian Suarez adding 11 points and 8 rebounds helped keep them in the game but shooting just 18 percent from beyond the arc slowed down Chile’s offense. Lucas Mariano had a solid game for Brazil with 17 points shooting over 60 percent and Tim Soares added 16 points as well as 6 rebounds to secure the win.
Argentina's Saturday night performance against Paraguay proved why they are not only a threat in Group A but will be challenging for anyone they face. Forcing turnovers and fouls and scoring in transition are keys to Argentina’s offense, which is what they did in their 82-43 win.
Paraguay managed to keep Argentina contained during the first quarter, trailing by just 5 points after 10 minutes, but Argentina scored 26 points in the second quarter alone, while Paraguay would go on to score only 32 the rest of the game.
Argentina shot 40 percent from the floor including 60 percent from mid-range, on top of sharing the ball and playing high-pressure defense to cause Paraguay to make mistakes. Paraguay kept in on the defensive glass, but ultimately Argentina controlled all areas of the game.
Ramon Sanchez scored a third of Paraguay’s total points with his 16-point performance, and Alejandro Peralta helped their defensive rebound effort leading the team with 6 boards. Nicolas Romano shot over 66 percent from the floor for Argentina scoring 18 points and grabbing 7 defensive rebounds. Carlos Delfino added 12 points including crucial baskets in the fourth quarter to solidify Argentina’s win.
FIBA
