FIBA Basketball

    Argentina step up without injured Bolmaro for second win

    HERAKLION (Greece) - Argentina moved to 2-0 in Group C after knocking off Philippines 77-72 - doing so without injured star talent Leandro Bolmaro.

    HERAKLION (Greece)  - Argentina came to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019 knowing they had a tough draw with two European teams, including hosts Greece. The South Americans took care of business on Day 2 with a hard-fought 77-72 win over Philippines following their opening victory over Russia in overtime.

    Argentina battled without injured Spanish-based talent Leandro Bolmaro and knocked off the motivated Asians - thanks to some late game free throws from Lucas Reyes, who finished wi 15 points and 5 assists.

    "We knew we were in a tough group and we knew that every game we were going to play was going to be tough. Big win last night, Russia was fourth in Europe (at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2018). And you know how Europe is, everyone is good. And Philippines are just great players," said Francisco Farabello, who also had 15 points while Marco Giordano tallied 18 points for the South Americans. "But we did our job, I think we had control of the game. So we are happy about the win."

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    Farabello and Reyes both stepped with the absence of Bolmaro, who had scored 16 points before going down injured in the first game against Russia - an 86-84 overtime win in Group C.

    "Yesterday (against Russia) was the most important victory. We had a little problem with the pick and roll, but we got the victory. Today we started very good and then they started playing a lot of one on one and they started scoring there. We had a little bit of a problem there, but we got the W," said Francisco Caffaro, Argentina’s big man who picked up 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks in the win over Philippines. "We are happy with that. We will try to get the final win on Tuesday to get a better match-up for the knockout games."

    Argentina’s final Group C game on Tuesday will come against hosts Greece. Should the South Americans win, they will lock up first place in the group.

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