The 2022 AmeriCup qualifiers had their second phase in the continent and the different national teams had a considerable participation of players (15 in total) that played in the first edition of the BCL Americas. Here’s an overview of the performances, country by country.

ARGENTINA
The World runner-up was coached by Gabriel Piccato and ended with two victories against Chile and Colombia, which brought it closer to qualifying. It had five players among its ranks that participated in the BCL Americas: Máximo Fjellerup, Agustín Caffaro and José Vildoza (San Lorenzo), Franco Baralle (Quimsa) and Martín Cuello (Instituto). Fjellerup was the strongest scorer, with an average of 13 points and 4.5 rebounds, and even though he didn’t score against Colombia, he scored 7 points against Chile, and he had 3 rebounds and 1 assist. In the case of Vildoza, he was the starting point guard against Chile, with 6 points and 5 rebounds, and he scored 10 points from the bench in the victory against Colombia. Baralle averaged 4 points and 3 rebounds, and he was in the starting team in one of the matches, the same as Cuello (8.5 points and 2.5 assists).

BRAZIL
Petkovic’s team battled and won its two matches (Panama and Paraguay), and it secured its ticket for the 2022 AmeriCup. It had four players from teams that participated in the BCL Americas; Yago Mateus and Rafa Mineiro (Flamengo), Lucas Díaz (Franca) and Danilo Fuzaro (Mogi). The Mengao’s point guard averaged 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4 assists, and he was one of the steadiest players of the phase. The other man from Flamengo owned the paint, averaging 6.5 rebounds and scoring 3 and 4 points in each of the matches.
Danilo Fuzaro did not play against Panama, but he did against Paraguay, with 8 points, 2 rebounds and one steal in his 16 minutes on the court. Lucas Dias, on the other hand, averaged 8.5 points, 7 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

CHILE
Gerardo Isla was the representative from the BCL Americas (he played in Valdivia) in the two matches that portrayed Chile with a compact game, playing well in both defeats against Argentina and Venezuela. Isla was a substitute and he played during few but valuable minutes. Against Argentina, he scored 2 points and a rebound.

COLOMBIA
Hanner Mosquera is another player that represented Valdivia from Chile in the BCL Americas that also played in this phase of the AmeriCup, but with the Colombian jersey. In the matches against Venezuela and Argentina, he was one of the few important men from the Colombian team, and he averaged 8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists.

MEXICO
Omar De Haro was one of the highest notes that led the Mexican team to the quarter finals in the last BCL Americas, and he represented Mexico in this qualifying round (with a victory against Puerto Rico and a loss against the United States). Against the team from Central America, he scored 5 points in 17 minutes, and against the North American team, he only played for 2 minutes and he scored one free throw.

PANAMA
Trevor Gaskins became a great reinforcement for Quimsa when they played the semifinals and the final of the BCL Americas, won by the team from Santiago del Estero, Argentina. In the last phase of the AmeriCup qualifiers, he played for Panama in both losses against Brazil and Uruguay. Trevor was the highlight of his team, with an average of 16 points, 3 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Eloy Vargas was fundamental for Flamengo in the BCL Americas, qualifying for the final without losing a single match and before the interruption caused by the pandemic. The Dominican represented his country in the victories against Virgin Islands (89-75) and Cuba (96-60), and he was the MVP, averaging 19 points, 10 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and one steal per match.

URUGUAY
Luciano Parodi played for Franca in the BCL Americas, and in the national teams’ phase, he wore the Uruguayan jersey, coached once again by Rubén Magnano, and he scored 18 and 14 points respectively against Paraguay (victory 97-77) and Panama (74-67), but he also averaged 7.5 assists, 4 steals and 2.5 rebounds.

The first edition of the BCL Americas was a success and the second one is coming up, once again with 12 teams that will play for the glory.

FIBA