Liga Sudamericana Group B Full Report
Image: FIBA.com
South American's biggest pan-national basketball championship, the Liga Sudamericana, moves to the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo where it witnessed plenty of high-quality, high-scoring basketball in the competition's most unpredictable group so far.
Competing in Group B were Quilmes de Mar del Plata from Argentina, Pinheiros of Brazil, Chile's Osorno Basquetbol and Uruguay's own Aguada.
In the opening game of the group, Eric Flor led Quilmes in plenty of nice inside moves, but the more exuberant Pinheiros dominated in dunks and three-point shooting, with seven players making good from beyond the arc. This gave the Brazilian team the edge they needed, and despite 20 points from Quilmes’s Emiliano Basabe, Pinheiros took the first win here, 83 points to 76.
Home side Aguada began their LSB campaign by out-scoring Osorno of Chile 31-9 in the opening quarter, and they did not look back. With a wide variety of plays and fast-action offence, Aguada dominated the entire game and despite 25 points from Osorno’s Terrell Taylor, Aguada bested Osorno by fifty points by the final whistle, much to the appreciation of the home fans.
A closely fought fixture between Osorno and Pinheiros opened day two. Pinheiros fought back against an early surge from Osorno, and in the second half the Brazilian team started to run out with the game, effortlessly racking up the points from all spots on the floor. Durrell Summers had 32 points and 10 rebounds for Osorno – not enough to rescue the Chilean side from their second straight defeat.
Quilmes recovered from their opening loss, displaying impressive skills that were absent from the day before. Aguada worked hard to try and get back in the game, behind Kyle La Monte who finished the game with 26 points and a good defensive show from the team as a whole. Quilmes’ first half performance was enough for them to coast home on, completing their first win of the tournament here 85-74.
On day three, Osorno could not get a consolatory win against Quilmes, who took a big lead early on and held Osorno back every time they made a push. The final score here 101 to 78 to Quilmes. In the final game of Group B, Pinheiros looked set to take a big final victory over Aguada to finish the group on a winning record. The Uruguayans, however, had other ideas. It took them to the final quarter to get themselves back into contention, and won the game with a buzzer-beating three from Damian Alvarez at the death.
Despite this loss, Pinheiros qualified directly to the next phase along with Quilmes, while Aguada now face an agonising wait to see if the results in the remainder of the tournament will see them through to the semi finals.
Group C tips off on Tuesday 17th October in Salvador, Brazil. For more on the 2017 Liga Sudamericana, visit the official website.
