09 December, 2022
16 April, 2023
1 Guilherme Deodato (FLA)
08/02/2023
Game Report
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Flamengo sweep final group stage, Real Esteli get wire-to-wire win


MIAMI (United States) - Flamengo rounded out this stage of the Basketball Champions League Americas 2-0, while Real Esteli kept their quest alive to finish in the top spot in Group A. Here's how the games played out:

Penarol 74 - 92 Flamengo

With a 92-74 win tonight, Flamengo not only swept their three games against Penarol, but they also swept their two games in this final group stage of the BCLA.

Penarol trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half but trimmed their deficit to six points at halftime. Charles Thomas scored 18 of the team's 40 points in the first half.

Jose Vildoza caught fire in the third quarter for Flamengo, scoring 10 points and knocking down two threes in the frame to help them maintain their lead.

 

Flamengo never let Penarol cut into their lead in the second half and ended up finishing the game strong with a 23-12 fourth quarter.

It was a balanced team effort from Flamengo with seven players scoring at least 7 points. Vildoza (19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 5-of-7 3P), Rafa Mineiro (14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 5-of-8 FG off the bench) and Rafael Hettsheimeir (14 points, 3 rebounds, 4-of-9 3P) were three of the four players to score in double figures.

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Thomas was the star for Penarol in the loss, finishing with 26 points and 5 rebounds, making 10-of-15 shots from the field and a game-high 23 efficiency.

Flamengo took care of the ball and had a 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio (24 assists, 6 turnovers). They also had a big advantage in three-point shooting, as they outscored Penarol by 33 points from beyond the arc (16-of-46 compared to 5-of-21).

Flamengo finish 5-1 in Group C and as the top team from the group, the Brazilian club will face UdeC (second place in Group D) in the Quarterfinals.

Penarol, meanwhile, fall to 2-3 in the group, but the team from Uruguay have already advanced to the Quarterfinals as well, where they will face Franca (first place in Group D).

 

Honey Badgers 93 - 99 Real Esteli

Real Esteli continued their strong level of play in the BCLA, picking up a wire-to-wire victory over Honey Badgers, who fought until the very end.

Real Esteli knocked down 13 shots in the first quarter and raced out to a 15-point lead. After one half of action, Real Esteli were putting on a show, shooting about 64 percent from the field.

Honey Badgers came out in the second half with momentum and cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the opening minutes of the game. A 27-20 third quarter got them back to within nine points. Jahvon Henry-Blair led Honey Badgers with 11 of his 24 points in the quarter.

 

Another strong quarter from the Honey Badgers got them as close as four points down the stretch, but Real Esteli held firm and closed the game out.

Real Esteli's trio of Jezreel De Jesus, Davon Jefferson and Thomas Robinson combined for 64 points, which was 64.6 percent of the team's scoring. De Jesus led the way with 25 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals and shot 9-of-15 from the field and also made four of the team's six three-pointers.

Jefferson finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks, while Robinson put up 19 points, 9 rebounds and a team-high 6 assists. The three players also combined for 24 of Real Esteli's 34 total made shots.

 

Honey Badgers only had nine players available tonight and all of them scored. Henry-Blair paced the Canadian club with 24 points and 3 assists, connecting on 6-of-13 three-pointers. Murphy Burnatowski chipped in 12 points, all of them coming from behind the arc.

Real Esteli had a 48-30 advantage in points in the paint and Robinson and Jefferson did most of that damage down low. The road team also got several more opportunities at the free-throw line and made 10 more from the charity stripe.

Real Esteli improve to 4-1 in Group A and have already advanced to the Quarterfinals. The Nicaraguan club will face Libertadores in their final game of the group stage on Wednesday February 8.

Honey Badgers are still winless at 0-5 in the group and were already eliminated from the competition. The team from Canada will close group stage against Libertadores on Thursday February 9.

FIBA