SAN ANDRES (Liga Sudamericana) - Salta Basket from Argentina and Nacional from Uruguay won their respective debuts in the Group D opener of the DIRECTV Liga Sudamericana in San Andres, Colombia.

In the first game played in the Ginny Bay Coliseum, Salta Basket managed to dominate Brazilian club Botafogo almost from tip-off, earning an important first victory in Group D. Christian Schoppler and Matías Bernardini stood out in the winner with 15 and 13 points respectively.

Botafogo had a better start to the game, with an offensive presence in the paint, taking advantage of their physicality to build a one-point 14-13 lead in the scoreboard after 10 minutes of play.

In the second quarter, things improved for the Argentines who, based on the intensity on both sides of the court and led by the smart play of Christian Schoppler, widened gap between the two clubs to end the half up by 11 points, 39-28.

The lead increased to 23 points in the third and Salta coasted to a key victory with an important margin that puts them in the driver seat to be one of the candidates to move to the semifinals out of Group D.

In the second game of the night, the Uruguayan club Nacional de Montevideo defeated B&B 77-64 in the game that closed the opening day of Group D in the DIRECTV Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol 2019, currently underway in San Andrés, Colombia.

In its international debut, Nacional had a tough matchup against a home team, but took control in the last quarter after 30 minutes of back and forth action.

The game started as a three-point festival, with B&B being more accurate and winning the first quarter by the score of 26-22. In the second, Nacional adjusted their defense, limiting the offensive output of the home team in the quarter. Santiago Moglia led the team in the quarter and Nacional managed to get back in the lead with a 42-39 margin at halftime.

B&B fought back once again with a three-point attack that kept it close in the third. Kyle Austin from National scored a basket that gave the Uruguayans a 61-60 lead heading into the fourth.

The home team scored only 4 points in the last quarter and Nacional took advantage to win it by the score of 77-64.

Tomorrow the activity continues for both teams when Nacional will face Botafogo and B&B will play against Salta Basket.

CONSUBASQUET