BUENOS AIRES (Argentina) - The main favorites in Groups A and B gave no room for surprise at the start of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Americas Qualifiers. Venezuela, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina were the first teams on the win column.

Here's what happened on day 1 of the first qualifiers window at the Obras Sanitarias stadium in Buenos Aires:

Venezuela vs. Panama

Kicking off the qualifiers and Group A action was Venezuela and Panama, Venezuela took an early lead in the first quarter, then doubled their opponent’s effort in the second outscoring them 22-11 to take a 47-29 lead going into halftime. Panama’s turnovers allowed Venezuela to score a total 27 points, a problem that allowed the game to get away from Panama in the first half.

The two teams stayed close in the second half, with Panama holding Venezuela to 30 points while scoring 27 of their own, but ultimately could not close the gap as Venezuela dominated the floor in almost all areas. Panama did find their rhythm on the board, and were able to block defensively and get on the glass, but allowing fast break and second chance points allowed Venezuela to quickly pull away for a 77-56 final.

Garly Sojo showed control on both ends of the floor for Venezuela, scoring 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists while David Cubillan led the team in scoring with 14 points. For Panama, Ernesto Oglivie led all scorers in the game with a 20-point performance while also leading his team in rebounds with 6, as Trevor Gaskins poured in another 10 points on top of 4 assists.

Uruguay vs. Colombia

Group B’s campaign was kicked off by Uruguay and Colombia, two teams who looked statistically similar coming into the match-up. The back-and-forth game confirmed that both teams had a fast paced, high scoring offense that would be hard to stop on either side. Uruguay led 49-41 at halftime after each team tipped in 28 points in the second quarter.

Colombia found their rhythm in the third quarter, getting gritty on the offensive boards, dominating in the paint, and forcing Uruguay to commit turnovers. But a team like Uruguay that is hot from beyond the arc and has stamina off the bench is hard to contain and Colombia was unable to close the gap, falling 83-75.

As a player to watch coming into the game, Bruno Fitipaldo exceeded already high expectations with a 31-point performance including going 5-of-11 from the 3-point line and hitting 80% of free throws on top of 6 rebounds. Braian Angola, one of Colombia’s key players coming into the tournament, was their answer with almost half of his team’s final score with 37 points including 6-of-13 from 3-point range.

Brazil vs. Chile

Coming into the game Brazil, ranked 15th in the world and 3rd in the Americas region, was one of the strongest teams in the world vying for a FIBA World Cup berth. Chile, who improved to a 15th ranking in the Americas region prior to the tournament, would have to keep pressure on Brazil. And they did in the first half, trailing by only 6 points entering halftime.

However, the second half saw Brazil double Chile’s score line, outscoring them 36-18 to close out the game 77-53. Allowing Brazil to own the boards both offensively and defensively resulted in many second chance and fast break points that Chile could not replicate. Brazil’s talented bench had enough gas left that kept them in the second half of the game.

Bruno Caboclo’s double-double performance of 14 points and 13 rebounds, including 11 defensive boards, was one of Brazil’s keys to maintain a strong lead. Lucas Mariano’s 18 points, including 7-of-11 shooting, also played a role in their 24-point win. Ignacio Arroyo and Manuel Suarez both tipped in 11 points for Chile, to keep the momentum on Chile’s side when possible.

Paraguay vs. Argentina

Ranked 2nd in the Americas and 7th in the world, Argentina's dominant performance against Paraguay was a signifier of just how tough of competition they will be for fellow teams in Group A.

Controlling the whole game, Argentina had three different players score 17 or more points in the win, including a 21-point show from Carlos Delfino, a player to watch entering the competition, who shot 9-of-16 from the floor and controlled the offense with 6 assists. Points from turnovers and in transition helped Argentina secure the win on top of gritty defense full of steals and rebounds.

Both teams had benches that came into the game and made an impact, and Paraguay’s offense was also extremely well balanced with three players of their own tipping in at least 10 points, with Gabriel Peralta scoring a team-high 17 in the 93-67 loss. Ultimately, rebounds that allowed second chance points and turnovers kept Argentina far enough away that Paraguay could not close the gap. Argentina outscored Paraguay 26-15 in the final 10 minutes.

FIBA