MIAMI (United States) – Boca Juniors (ARG), last season’s runner-up, and Instituto (ARG) opened Season 7 of the Basketball Champions League Americas with convincing victories on Wednesday, defeating Aguada (URU) and UdeC (CHI), respectively. Here is how the new campaign of the continent’s top club competition began:
UdeC 74 – 80 Instituto
Instituto built a strong first quarter, pulling away 26–12, and managed that initial lead for the remainder of the game to finish with a road win in Group D, against UdeC, at the Casa del Deporte gym in Concepción, Chile. For the first time in their five BCL Americas appearances, the Córdoba-based side opened with a victory and maintained an undefeated record against Chilean teams (6–0). Keylan Boone led the Argentine team with a double-double: 20 points, 12 rebounds, plus 3 steals. Nicolás Copello added 11 points and 5 assists, while forward Javier Saiz finished with 8 points and 7 boards.
Under new coach Sebastián González, the team stayed in control although UdeC closed in several times, narrowing the gap to single digits as Instituto held steady. A three by Copello with 4:35 left in the game proved decisive, stretching the margin to 77–64. The home team failed to score in the final two minutes, and their chances evaporated. The key for Instituto was depth: 32 points came from the bench, compared with just 11 from UdeC’s reserves. The Argentines also controlled the interior, scoring 42 paint points against 34 for the Chilean team. For UdeC, Stephen Maxwell finished with 26 points and 7 rebounds. Isaac Hamilton and Eugenio Bocaz (6 assists) each added 14 points, while Kevin Rubio contributed 11 points off the bench.
Aguada 71 – 88 Boca Juniors
In Group C action, held at Estadio 8 de Junio in Paysandú, Uruguay, Boca Juniors had little difficulty overcoming host Aguada. The Xeneizes led in every quarter (24–21, 43–34, 62–48) and delivered an offensive showcase, shooting 51 percent from the field (36–71), while limiting their opponent to just 36 percent (26–72).
Guard Michael Smith, recently added for the final round of the national league, scored 18 points, dished out 9 assists (his BCL Americas career high), and grabbed 5 rebounds. Santiago Scala added 14 points off the bench, including 4 three-pointers. Franco Giorgetti and Agustín Barreiro contributed 10 points each (Barreiro also had 7 boards). Center Francisco Cáffaro nearly notched a double-double with 11 rebounds and 9 points. Boca ran comfortably, outscoring in transition 20–4 and dominating the paint 48–30. They are now victorious in all six countries where they have competed in BCL Americas. For Aguada, Earl Clark and Federico Pereiras were the top performers with 18 and 15 points, respectively, both collecting 7 boards. Donald Sims added 14 points and a BCL Americas season-high 4 steals, and Miguel Simón contributed 11 points. Groups C and D of the BCL Americas will continue action on Thursday. Check the schedule here.
FIBA