Liga Sudamericana Group D Full Report
The final group of the 2017 Liga Sudamericana saw another unpredictable four-way contest with some of the biggest individual performances of the tournament to date. With this group made up of teams from developing basketball nations, only the group winners would advance to the next stage - for the quartet taking part in Potosi, Bolivia, it really was everything to play for.
Image: FIBA.com
Deportivo Calero were the native contingent, they were joined by Peru's premier side Regatas Lima, Olimpia Kings of Paraguay and HR Portoviejo from Ecuador.
Olimpia got proceedings underway with an impressive showing over Portoviejo. Despite 43 points between Adriano Barreras and Rafael Perez and a good defensive showing from Michael Hinestroza for the Ecuadorians, composed, high-percentage basketball from Olimpia and nine shots hit from three-point territory saw them keep the scoreline in their favour from start to finish.
Though arguably the most experienced and successful team of Group D, Regatas Lima found themselves in a tough encounter with home side Deportivo Calero. Good close-range play from the Bolivians saw them lead at half-time, but as the game went on their shots stopped falling, and Regatas seized on the opportunity. With solid play in the paint, particularly from Lyonell Gaines with an incredible performance of 22 points and 19 rebounds, Regatas stayed the course to take an opening win in the group, 74 to 68.
The two winning sides from day one met up in the first game of day two. Making over half their shots from the field, making 48 of their points in the paint and with 21 points and 8 rebounds from Javier Martinez, Olimpia again seized control of the game and survived scares from Regatas in the first and third quarters. Howard Crawford has 18 points, shot 61% from the field and was perfect from beyond the arc for Regatas, but it was Olimpia who remained unbeaten at the end of this encounter, winning here by 22 points.
The crowds in Potosi then witnessed a tight first half between Portoviejo and Calero, with only one point separating the teams as they went to the locker rooms. After the re-start, Calero went on the warpath with 33 points in the third quarter and finishing with 62 in the second half. An astounding performance from Louis Munks - 32 points, 11 rebounds and one assist shy of a triple double - helped see the Bolivians into the winning column in front of the home fans. Adriano Barreras had 33 points for Portoviejo in the loss.
Regatas Lima needed victory in their final game against Portoviejo to keep their chances alive, but found the Ecuadorian team hard to break from throughout the first half. Both teams were consistent from short range and making corner threes, and both Regatas’ Lyonell Gaines and Michael Hinestroza had double-doubles. As the game went on, Regatas stepped up their defence and pulled away to end the game 87-69.
It was all to play for in the final game between Calero and Olimpia, who both had a shot at qualification. Still feeling the high from their win the day before, Calero played tough defence and, led by Louis Monks who finished with a game-high 25 points, found and made plenty of scoring opportunities to give themselves an edge early in the game - but it wasn’t by much. Olimpia stuck to their game plan of high-percentage shots from the field and a big rebounding effort to take back the lead, then they built on it.
Winning this game 91-73, Olimpia finished the group 3-0 and become the first Paraguayan side to reach the semi finals of the Liga Sudamericana since 2002.
The semi finals of the 2017 Liga Sudamericana begins on November 7th. For more information, visit the official website.
