The Basketball Champions League Americas brings together the best clubs on the continent and the 1st edition of the group phase did not disappoint in the least. 24 intense matches have left 8 qualified clubs (Bigua, Aguada, Valdivia and Capitanes were eliminated) advancing to the quarterfinals with match-ups that promise to be intense.

SAN LORENZO - FRANCA
On paper this series appears to be the most attractive for the quality and strength of both teams. San Lorenzo, the 4-time champion from Argentina, won the last two editions of the Ligas de las Americas and looks to ensure continental domination. Franca, for their part, has formed a team loyal to their history, winning the Liga Sudamericana in 2018 and entering the quarterfinals, man to man they are the more dangerous team.

San Lorenzo finished the group phase undefeated with an average of 97.5 points per game, and was the best team in their group averaging 41.3 rebounds and 19 assists.

Franca finished second in Group B behind Quimsa, classifying with 2 wins and 2 loses. They finished with an average of 87.3 points, 37.3 rebounds and 20.8 assists.

The first game of the series will be in Brazil and then will travel to Buenos Aires to play the second and potential third game.

SCHEDULE (Local time):
TUESDAY 14/1 Franca-San Lorenzo 19.30

SATURDAY 18/1 San Lorenzo-Franca 20.00

*MONDAY 20/1 San Lorenzo-Franca 20.00 (if necessary)

QUIMSA - MOGI
Another even series between Brazilians and Argentines. Quimsa swept group B winning three games and their only loss coming to Aguada in double overtime. Mogi advances as the second place team in Group A with two wins and six points.

The team from Santiago del Estero comes with a good overall collective play, a large squad and are in a good position in the Argentine domestic league where they currently sit in second place and are also situated in the final 4 of the Argentine Super 20 competition.

For Mogi’s part, in the group stage they suffered injuries to Alexey, Joao Pedro and Fulvio but now that they are in the playoffs, they will be much more dangerous. In the Brazilian league they are currently 4th with 10 wins and 4 loses.

Quimsa finished the group stage with 91.8 points (third in the overall table), 42.8 rebounds and 17.4 assists per game. Mogi averaged 82.7 points, 36 rebounds and 18.3 assists.

SCHEDULE (Local time):
WEDNESDAY 15/1 Mogi-Quimsa 20.00

SUNDAY 19/1 Quimsa-Mogi 22.00

*TUESDAY 21/1 Quimsa-Mogi 22.00 (if necessary)

FLAMENGO - FUERZA REGIA
The Brazilian team celebrated all through their four games in Group C. Overwhelming in games both at home and away, they have a squad already with eyes on fighting for the BCLA title. Their last two additions to the squad were the Dominican Eloy Camacho Vargas and the Uruguayan Gustavo Barrera.

Fuerza Regia made it to the quarterfinals in their last game when they won in a fierce battle against Capitanes, the other Mexican team in their group. Led by Sergio Molina, they split players between the BCLA and their domestic league where they currently sit third in the Eastern Conference. The duel against Flamengo will be a great test of character to demonstrate that they are ready for more.

The Flamengo side comes in as the leader and with 1st place assured in first phase of their domestic league where they are also the returning Champion. They averaged 82 points, 37 rebounds and 17.3 assists per game in the BCLA.

Fuerza Regia which lost 3 of their 4 games, averaged 78.3 points, 39,3 rebounds and 17.3 assists.

SCHEDULE (Local time):
THURSDAY 16/1 Fuerza Regia-Flamengo 19.30

SUNDAY 19/1 Flamengo-Fuerza Regia 19.30

*TUESDAY 21/1 Flamengo-Fuerza Regia 19.30 (if necessary)

REAL ESTELÍ - INSTITUTO
Real Estelí were the big surprise in the group phase. The Nicaragua team won all 4 of their matches in Group D playing at a very high level. They will have a trial by fire when they meet up with Instituto de Cordoba, last year’s runner-up in the Argentine league and also the runner-up in the Liga Sudamericana.

Instituto arrives to the playoffs finishing second to Flamengo in Group C and has a very strong following in the Angel Sandrin Stadium. The team has also qualified to the final 4 of the Argentina Super 20.

Real Estelí is the second highest scoring team with an average of 94.7 points. They lead the BCLA with 50 rebounds and 22.7 assists per game.

The Cordobans can count on a good rotation of players and finished the group stage averaging 81.3 points, 38.5 rebounds and 13.5 assists.

SCHEDULE (Local time):
TUESDAY 14/1 Instituto-Real Estelí 22.00

SATURDAY 18/1 Real Estelí-Instituto 19.30

*MONDAY 20/1 Real Estelí-Instituto 19.30 (if necessary)

How will the games be played?
All games will be a best of 3 series, so to advance, a team has to win at least two games. The team that finished in second place in the group stage will play the first game of the series at home and the second and potentially third games will be played at the home of the team that finished in first place of the opposing group. The semifinal order will be determined by results of the quarterfinals.
The winner of the San Lorenzo-Franca game will play in the semifinals against the winner of the Qiumsa-Mogi match-up while the winner of the Flamengo-Fuerza Regia game will play for a chance to go to the finals against either Real Esteli or Instituto. The competition returns in January to see who will advance.