SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (Argentina) – Quimsa unleashed a ferocious third quarter run to defeat Real Estelí 99-69 Monday night at Estadio Ciudad and advance to the Basketball Champions League Americas Final 4.

The Argentinians recovered from a tough loss Sunday night to win the series and will now face Hebraica Macabi for a spot in the final.

Turning point: It’s often said that basketball is a game of runs, and the first half fit that description perfectly, with Quimsa leading by 6 points early on and later Real Estelí going on a 14-2 to take a 7-point lead of their own.

The next few minutes were an even affair, but something changed as soon as Estelí went up 46-42 on a Terrell Holloway jumper with 2:46 left in the half.

Quimsa uncorked a breathtaking 30-3 run to blow the game wide open. The Nicaraguans refused to let go on the rope and briefly cut the deficit to 12 points in the 4th quarter, but the home team went on another hot streak, leading by as many as 30 points before the final buzzer.

Player of the Game: Leandro Ramella’s club was led by the 3-headed monster formed by Brandon Robinson, Fabián Ramírez and Juan Brussino.

The trio scored all of Quimsa’s points in the first quarter, setting the tone for what was a masterful performance by all of them.

Robinson had a game-high 22 points on 7/12 from the field (4/8 from long distance) and added 7 rebounds, an assist and a block.

Brussino had a team-high 21 efficiency rating after dropping 14 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals, while Ramírez finished with 15 points on 5/8 from the floor.

Ismael Romero led the way for Real Estelí with 16 points, while Tony Bishop Jr. had 12 and 7 boards and Jared Ruiz finished with 11.

Stats don’t lie: Quimsa was superior across the board, shooting 50.7 percent from the field, notching 21 assists on 38 made baskets and only suffering 12 turnovers.

They went 12/26 from beyond the arc and held Real Estelí to just 7/26 in the same category. The visitors shot just 39.3 percent from the field.

The Argentinian giants also doubled up their opponent in points in the paint (50-24), benefitting from a big edge on the boards (48-29, including 17 offensive rebounds).

Bottom line: With the win, Quimsa joins Flamengo as the only clubs to have reached the BCLA Final 4 in four different occasions. Both teams will now seek to become the first team to win multiple editions of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Real Estelí couldn’t reach what would have been their second Final 4 in five tries and ended their season with a disappointing 4-5 record.

FIBA