Brazil, Argentina, Canada, USA advance to Semi-Finals; qualify for U19 World Cup

TIJUANA (Mexico) - The FIBA U18 Americas Championship moved to the Quarter-Finals, where Brazil, Canada, Argentina and USA advanced to the next stage of the tournament held at Auditorio Zonkeys in Tijuana, Mexico. The four teams also punched their ticket to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2023.

Brazil 66 - 52 Dominican Republic

Brazil quickly recovered from Wednesday’s loss to Canada and advanced to the semifinals with a comfortable 66-52 victory over the Dominican Republic in the first game of Friday’s slate.

After defense-first, back-and-forth first quarter, Vitor Galvani’s squad took control of the action in the second, opening up a double-digit lead.

Guilherme Tesch had his breakout game, dominating inside and out to pace the South Americans with 23 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

The 18-year-old small forward, currently studying and playing at North Broward Preparatory School in Florida, shot 3/8 from beyond the arc and added three steals and an assist.

His brilliance allowed Brazil to win wire to wire despite the team shooting 28.6 percent from the field and having 25 turnovers.

Eduardo Bersh (13 points) and Lucas Vieira (11) also scored in double digits off the bench as the Brazilian reserves outscored their counterparts by 51-13.

The Dominican Republic made a run in the fourth quarter and shaved the deficit down to 10 points with 2:44 left in regulation, but that would be as close as they would get.

Edwin Daniel (11 points and eight rebounds and seven blocks) and Edwin Suárez (10 points and nine boards) led the way for the still winless team coached by José Cabrera.

Puerto Rico 78 - 86 Canada

Canada punched their ticket to the semifinals with a wire-to-wire 86-78 victory over Puerto Rico and will now face Brazil for a spot in the gold medal game.

The North Americans withstood a 12-point deficit in points in the paint thanks to a solid three-point shot attack. Small forward Jordann Dumont went 3/8 from beyond the arc to pace Canada with 16 points off the bench.

Michael Nwoko had 11 points, 12 rebounds and a pair of blocks, while star point guard Vasean Allette added 11 points and eight.

In the end, Patrick Bruce Tatham’s squad was just deeper, as their bench also outscored Puerto Rico’s 43-23.

Puerto Rico made a run in the fourth quarter, chipping away at a double-digit deficit to get within six points, but the effort came too little too late, as Ruben Rodríguez Jr.’s and Alejandro Aviles’ twin 16-point, 11-rebound efforts fell short of the mark. Yaniel Rivera led Edin Santiago’s squad with 18 points.

Argentina 92 - 47 Ecuador

Argentina notched their third consecutive win with an empathic 92-47 victory over Ecuador to advance to the semifinals, where they will face the undefeated United States of America.

Herman Mandole’s team took care of business, holding Ecuador to 25 percent from the field and allowing only 17 points in the second half – including just four in the fourth quarter.

Sharpshooter Benajamín Machiaro led the way with 18 points in just over 15 minutes of play, shooting ¾ from beyond the arc. Santiago Trouet and Diego Collomb added 10 points apiece for a team that dominated every category, including rebounds (55-32), points in the paint (42-16), second chance points (12-7) and points off turnovers (25-11).

Ecuador was overmatched from the jump and finished 24 turnovers to just 10 assists on the night. Point guard Janer Arcila (13 points) was their only player scoring in double digits.

USA 92 - 64 Mexico

The United States extended their unbeaten streak by beating Mexico, 92-64, in the final game of Friday’s slate.

But for the first time, Tad Boyle’s squad had to come from behind after trailing 18-10 at the end of the first quarter. The rest of the way was a lot more like it has been for the Americans throughout the tournament, as they outscored Mexico by 26 points to advance to the semifinals, where they’ll face Argentina on Saturday.

Outside shooting was the key, as the U.S. went 16/39 from beyond the arc – thanks to the marksmanship of Cam Whitmore, who led the way with 27 points on 4/7 from three-point territory.

Guards Jared McCain (17 points) and Mark Armstrong (16) also scored in double digits for a team that shot 47.3 overall from the field.

As for Mexico, it was once again the Victor Valdez and Jesus Ochoa show. The duo combined for 26 points (Eduardo Espejel added another 10) but were swarmed by the U.S. defense throughout most of the night.

In the end, the Americans were faster (33-22 in fast break points) and deeper (40-17 on points from the bench) and remain the only undefeated team in the tournament.

FIBA