Mogi and Malvin qualify for DIRECTV Liga de las Americas Semi-Finals

SANTIAGO (2016 DIRECTV Liga de las Americas) - Brazil's Mogi and Uruguay's Malvin qualified to the Semi-Finals out of Group A of the 2016 DIRECTV Liga de las Americas.

Mogi finished with a 3-0 mark at the weekend, dominating the competition with a 20-point winning margin. The Brazilians opened the continental league with a 82-60 victory over Malvin and quickly showed their uniqueness in the competition. The team has a guard combo that is lethal, with Brazil national team point guard Larry Taylor and 2013 Liga de las Americas MVP Shamell Stallworth, who averaged 26 points per game combined. Shamell scored 25 points, along with 4 rebounds in the opener.

Then came the hosts, Metros, who put up their best effort of the weekend against Mogi, staying in the game for three quarters but falling to the Brazilian’s effectiveness from three-point land. Mogi won by the score of 88-77. The Brazilian club looked versatile over the weekend, putting up lineups with five shooters on the court, including their center Lucas Mariano, who scored 20 points, including 4 threes, along with 8 rebounds.

The closer against the over-matched Leones de Quilpue of Chile ended up as a confirmation that Mogi is a real candidate in this 2016 edition of the DIRECTV Liga de las Americas. Malvin on the other hand grew stronger over the three days of competition in Santiago de los Caballeros. The Uruguayan club opened their participation in the competition suffering a devastating loss at the hands of Mogi. The team looked despondent and unable to keep up with the Brazilians. But they picked up and became must-watch over the weekend with an impressive offensive display in which they dominated both Leones de Quilpue and the home team Metros. Malvin’s presence in the paint was felt and Samuel Hoskins ended up averaging 20.5 points and 7 rebounds per game in the last two games of Group A competition. The team defeated Leones by the score of 91-68.

But the performance of the weekend was put up by veteran 40-year old Nicolas Mazzarino in the closer against Metros. The shooting guard scored 6 three-pointers and took the wind out of any comeback possibilities for the Dominicans. The game ended with an 88-68 victory for Malvin.

Mogi (3-0) and Malvin (2-1) became the first two teams to make it to the semifinals of the 2016 DIRECTV Liga de las Americas, a competition that picks up again this next weekend in Santiago del Estero, Argentina with the participation of defending champion Bauru from Brazil, Toros del Norte from Nicaragua, Marinos de Anzoategui from Venezuela and the hosts Quimsa.

The 2016 DIRECTV Liga de las Americas is played in a Group phase of four groups of four teams each. Each group will play a four-team series where the top two teams will advance to the Semifinal Phase.

The Semifinal phase will be made up of two groups of four teams. The two groups will play in a four team series where the top two teams will advance to the Final Four.

The Final Four is a single elimination four team tournament where the winner will be crowned champion.

This is the ninth edition of the DIRECTV Liga de las Americas. The competition has been won by Argentina's Penarol (2007 & 2009) and Regatas (2010), Brazil's Uniceub (2008), Pinheiros (2013), Flamengo (2014) and Bauru (2015), and Mexico's (2012).

The competition will be broadcast by DIRECTV throughout the Americas, SporTV in Brazil and online on livebasketball.tv (subscription required).

For the most complete coverage of the 2016 edition, visit ligamericas.com.

FIBA