SANTIAGO (Chile) - Argentina (2-0) played a great second half and defeated Uruguay (1-1) 73-63, to maintain undefeated status in Group A of the South American U17 Championship 2019.

After losing the first half 28-24, Argentina reacted and went on to win the third quarter 32-22 to take a 56-50 lead into the last 10 minutes of the game. In the final quarter, Argentina’s defense secured the win.

Gauto was the top performer for Argentina with 22 points. Francisco Méndez contributed another 13 points and Pedro Rossi 12 points.

For Uruguay, Santiago Corbo finished with 17 points, Agustín Ubal with 14 and Tiago Leites with 12.

For its part, Brazil (1-0) debuted in Group B with a resounding victory against Ecuador (1-1) with a score of 90-43.

Brazil was far superior to their rival and controlled the game from tip-off. They summed 28 steals and forced Ecuadorians to commit up to 45 turnovers, which they converted to 46 points.

Guilherme Carvalho, with 14 points and Augusto De Oliveira, with 13, led the Brazilian offensive.

Venezuela (1-1) recovered in Group A with a 92-52 win over Colombia (0-2).

The Vinotinto started the game with a 20-0 run and never slowed down.

The Venezuelan defense limited Colombia to only 26 percent in field shots (73-19) and controlled rebounds 61-43. In offense, the team coached by Alfredo Madrid scored 11 three-pointers. Beiker Barrios was the top performer with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Andrés Marrero added 16 units.

On the last day of the Group Phase, Colombia will face Uruguay, Venezuela will face Argentina and Brazil will face the hosts.

The top three teams of the South American U17 Championship 2019 will qualify to the FIBA U18 Americas Championship 2020.

FIBA