FIBA Americas - Upsets, surprises and no easy games in Caracas

CARACAS (FIBA Americas Championship/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - There are no easy games at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship - you can take that to the bank. Mexico and Puerto Rico are still undefeated while Brazil, the Dominican Republic and even Argentina are having a tough time of it in every game.

Before the tournament tipped off, no one accounted for Mexico when thinking of the teams that would claim the four spots to qualify for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, but that is changing as the days go on.

Mexico whipped the Dominican Republic 85-61 on Monday to improve to 3-0 and top Group B, while the Dominicans fell to 1-2. Orlando Mendez had 26 points including four three-pointers in the winning effort, while Gustavo Ayon added 16. For the Dominican Republic, Jack Michael Martinez finished with 16 points and Francisco Garcia had 14 points.

In the next game, favourites Puerto Rico were made to sweat it out until the last seconds to overcome Jamaica 88-82.

The Puerto Ricans had a large lead for most of the game but Samardo Samuels and Weyinmi Rose put on a show to start the fourth quarter. Samuel had his way in the paint as he went for 24 points and Rose added 18.

For Puerto Rico, help came in the shape of Jose Juan Barea who had 24 points and Renaldo Balkman went for 20 points and 9 rebounds.

Bad defense at the end and some mental mistakes for Jamaica cost them the game.

Puerto Rico finish the Qualifying Round with a perfect 4-0 mark in Group A, while Jamaica are winless in three games. They face Brazil in the last game of the day on Tuesday.

Brazil are strong candidates for the title of bad surprise of the tournament. Not only have they lost to teams that they usually beat, but they have looked terrible in their losses.

Fellow South Americans Uruguay got 23 points and 13 rebounds from Esteban Batista and some good outside shooting from Leandro Garcia Morales to beat Brazil 79-73.

The Uruguayans had not beat Brazil since 1995.

Brazil did not look at either end of the floor. A team known for their good shooting, they could not score and also had to do without the guidance of coach Ruben Magnano who was tossed in Sunday's defeat to Canada and could not coach on Monday as a result.

Guillerme Giovannoni finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds and Caio Torres had a dozen in the losing cause.

The result saw Uruguay improve to 2-1 and Brazil drop to 0-3 and stand on the edge of elimination. They must beat Jamaica to claim one of the top four spots in Group A in order to advance to the Second Round.

In the last game of the day, tournament hosts Venezuela came close to taking a big scalp. They had powerhouse Argentina on the brink of defeat, but some mental mistakes gave Argentina a 77-71 win.

Despite their superstar Luis Scola fouling out in the fourth quarter, the Argentinians didn't panick and showed some character to overcome a good game from Venezuela.

Facundo Campazzo led Argentina with 18 points and Juan Gutierrez chipped in with 17. Rafael Perez paced Venezuela with 14 points and Donta Smith had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

The loss means that Venezuela finish their Qualifying Round with a 2-2 record in Group B, good enough to advance.

Argentina improved to 2-1 and are also through, regardless of what happens in their game against Argentina on Tuesday.

For full and in-depth coverage of the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship, go to the official website http://www.caracas2013.com/en/default.asp?lang=en.

FIBA