MONTEVIDEO (Uruguay) – Few sporting events pack more excitement than a Basketball Champions League Americas playoff game.

In an absolute nailbiter, Nacional defeated Halcones de Xalapa, 79-78, Tuesday night at Antel Arena to take a 1-0 lead in the quarterfinal series.

Turning point: In a game full of twists and turns, including 8 ties and 11 lead changes, the Uruguayans clawed back from an 8-point deficit in the third quarter to make it a blow for blow affair down the stretch.

Nacional erased their deficit with a pair of free throws from Gastón Semiglia to go up 70-69 in the fourth quarter, but then David Cubillán and Gabriel Girón gave the visiting team a pair of fresh leads in the final minutes.

Girón’s bomb made it 78-75 with 55.8 seconds left in regulation. What came after the stoppage was absolute cinema.

Semiglia drove the lane and found Franco Giorgetti open for a dunk to get within a point. Moments later, Rasid Mahalbasic’s turnover kept Nacional alive, giving them a shot at the Hollywood ending.

And they sure delivered, with Alejandro Acosta making the perfect entry into the post, Giorgetti delivering a textbook touch pass and Eric Anderson finishing the wide-open lefty layup for the 79-78 lead with 5.6 seconds left.

And after the final time out, Anderson stuffed Daniel Bejarano’s floater, Jordan Glynn caught the rebound and threw a (short) jump shot toward the rim. Mahalbasic caught it, turned around and made the layup (after a handful of bounces on the rim) …but not before the shock clock expired. The review confirmed Nacional’s win as the fans in the stands went wild in celebration.

Player of the Game: Semiglia and Anderson shared the hero duties for Nacional.

The Uruguayan shooting guard finished with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, while the American big man added 13 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and the game-winning block.

Giorgetti of Argentina also had 19 points and 7 rebounds and Jordan Matthews contributed 10 points.

Bejarano led the way for Halcones with 19 points, 4 steals, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Mahabalsic added 14 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals. Glynn (13) and Cubillán (12) also scored in double digits for Paco Olmos’ club.

Stats don’t lie: Nacional managed to come away with the victory despite having a slightly worse field goal percentage than Halcones and notching 20 turnovers to their opponent’s 12.

Where they managed to get even was at the free throw line, where they shot 15/18 while the Mexican squad finished 7/7. They also had a 46-27 edge on the boards, including 16 offensive rebounds.

Bottom line: Nacional is now one win away from reaching the BCL Americas Semifinals for the first time in the history of the competition. Game 2 will be in Xalapa on Saturday, with the Mexicans looking to force a Game 3, scheduled for Sunday.

FIBA