Argentina, USA lead Americas Conferences after opening day
MIES (Switzerland) - The final weekend of the FIBA Esports Open 2020 II began with Argentina and USA off to strong starts in their respective Conferences.
Reigning South America Conference champions, Argentina won both of their games on Saturday, while USA battled to a 4-1 record in the inaugural North and Central America Conference.
North and Central America Conference
| Position | Team | Wins | Losses | Difference | Points |
| 1 | USA | 4 | 1 | +185 | 9 |
| 2 | Dominican Republic | 3 | 1 | +212 | 7 |
| 3 | Puerto Rico | 3 | 1 | +132 | 7 |
| 4 | Guatemala | 2 | 3 | -282 | 7 |
| 5 | Canada | 2 | 2 | +134 | 6 |
| 6 | Costa Rica | 1 | 3 | -129 | 4 |
| 7 | Honduras | 0 | 4 | -252 | 4 |
Results: USA 54-60 Puerto Rico; Costa Rica 39-89 Canada; USA 137-32 Honduras; Guatemala 31-147 Puerto Rico; Canada 61-67 USA; Dominican Republic 133-36 Costa Rica; Honduras 45-52 Guatemala; Puerto Rico 51-67 Dominican Republic; Honduras 45-83 Costa Rica; Guatemala 35-151 Canada; Dominican Republic 57-60 USA; Puerto Rico 82-56 Canada; Costa Rica 0-20 Guatemala; Dominican Republic 129-27 Honduras; Guatemala 30-107 USA
Puerto Rico upset USA in the opening game with a 60-54 victory before turning on the style as Joseph Ramos (@lWolfTooClutchl) poured 53 points and Michael Garcia (@oYoungStar-) had 41 points as both recorded double-doubles with assists in the 116-point win over Guatemala.
USA quickly recovered to see off Honduras 137-32 including an incredible 86-point display from Malik Hobson (@Originalmalikxx). Their second win followed as all five players hit double figures in a 67-61 victory over Canada, who had enjoyed big wins over Costa Rica and Guatemala.
🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯
— USA Basketball E-National Team (@USABgaming) December 19, 2020
🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯
🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯@OriginalMalik_ ... all game... 26 of'em pic.twitter.com/8UIO1SPMOP
Eddy (@BOHIO-) netted 29 points as Dominican Republic handed Puerto Rico their first loss with a 67-51 triumph - following up a crushing rout against Costa Rica - but their unbeaten start was ended as John Mascone (@JBMNY--) finished with 29 points and 10 assists to help USA come through an overtime thriller, 60-57.
Puerto Rico saw off the challenge of Canada to win 82-56, while Dominican Republic joined them on a 3-1 record with a 102-point win, and USA became the first team to four wins as they rounded out the day by beating Guatemala, 107-30.
Earlier, Costa Rica and Guatemala both picked up their first wins after beating Honduras.
South America Conference
| Position | Team | Wins | Losses | Difference | Points |
| 1 | Argentina | 2 | 0 | +23 | 4 |
| 2 | Uruguay | 1 | 1 | +70 | 3 |
| 3 | Bolivia | 1 | 1 | -70 | 3 |
| 4 | Brazil | 1 | 1 | +43 | 3 |
| 5 | Venezuela | 0 | 2 | -66 | 2 |
Results: Brazil 41-53 Argentina; Venezuela 50-61 Bolivia; Argentina 63-52 Uruguay; Brazil 81-26 Venezuela; Uruguay 117-36 Bolivia
Argentina and Brazil were the only competing nations in the inaugural South America Conference in June, and the two teams met again in the opening game of the FIBA Esports Open II.
Adrian Lopez (@TrulyNumb) hit eight three-pointers in a 37-point performance to lead Argentina to a 53-41 triumph before top scoring again with 19 points as his side overcame Uruguay, 63-52 to move to 2-0.
Uruguay bounced back as Juan Martin Olave (@CxrtifiedJuanma_) dropped 44 points and 15 assists in a dominant 117-36 success over Bolivia, who had opened their tournament with a 61-50 victory over Venezuela.
Tomorrow 🔒 https://t.co/zFeB0yPp0f
— Juanma 🔟 (@CxrtifiedJuanma) December 19, 2020
Brazil also finished Day 1 with a split 1-1 record after they got off the mark with a 55-point win as they beat Venezuela 81-26 to remain in the hunt for making the Finals.
The action continues on Sunday as the winners of both Conferences will be decided with the top two teams in each region advancing to the best-of-three Finals for the titles.
FIBA
