Mexico undefeated, Virgin Islands shocks Canada, and Argentina edges out Venezuela after Day 3

MEDELLIN – BAHIA BLANCA (FIBA AmeriCup 2017) - Mexico closed out Group A with an undefeated record, Virgin Islands pulled off a big upset over Canada, Puerto Rico put on an impressive performance and Argentina edged out a close victory over Venezuela in Day 3 of the FIBA AmeriCup 2017 as the tournament said goodbye to Medellin and opened group play in Bahia Blanca.

The day started with Group A action where Puerto Rico beat Brazil by the score of 89-80. It was a close game throughout, with the Puerto Ricans leading the way behind an impressive performance from Angel Rodriguez, who scored 23 points, with 4 rebounds and 5 steals in the win. Puerto Rico ended group play with a 2-1 record, falling short of qualifying to the Semi-Finals after the heart-breaking day 1 loss against Mexico.

Virgin Islands shocked Canada in the Group B opener with a 83-71 victory. The Caribbean squad imposed their physicality and won every individual match-up in a huge third 28-19 quarter. Walter Hodge was unstoppable for Virgin Islands, scoring 25 points and dealing 8 assists in his FIBA AmeriCup 2017 debut. Canada had all sorts of problems on the offensive side of the court shooting 31.5% from the floor, with only one player (Olivier Hanlan, 10 points) scoring in double figures.

Mexico put an exclamation point in their excellent Group A performance, closing out their participation in Medellin by beating the home team by the score of 82-70. The Central American team put on an impressive defensive effort in the last quarter of the game, holding Colombia to only 12 points in the finishing minutes of the game. Jorge Gutierrez scored 25 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists in the win. Mexico advances to the Semi-Final that will be played in Cordoba on September 2.

In the last game of the day, Argentina defeated Venezuela by the score of 67-62. It was a tough, competitive, defensively-oriented game in which Venezuela had a good first half, but fell to the home team in a third quarter that ended 18-11 in favor of Argentina. Lucio Redivo and Facundo Campazzo got into the rhythm of the game in the fourth and won it for the hosts. Gabriel Deck was the leading scorer of the game with 16 points, along with John Cox from Venezuela.

Tomorrow, group play continues in Bahia Blanca with Argentina facing off against Canada and Venezuela against Virgin Islands, while the tournament tips-off in Montevideo USA battling Panama and Uruguay closing the day against the Dominican Republic.

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