2018 FIBA Americas League Group A Full Report
A new season of South and Central America's premier club competition got underway in the beautiful Mexican city of Monterrey, and already signalled that this year's competitors have plenty to offer.
Hosting Group A is Fuerza Regia de Monterrey, who would be joined in the group by compatriot club Soles de Mexicali from northern Mexico. Joining them was Ferro Basquet from Argentina and Puerto Rican side Capitanes de Arecibo - at first glance, a group whose outcome would not be easy to predict.
In the opening game, Mexicali fought back against Ferro’s nine-point lead to go in front in the second quarter, but their superiority on the game did not last long. Ferro’s inside play and shooting - led by Dijon Thompson with 18 points to go with 8 rebounds - saw them in control. Kevin Hernandez put Ferro up by eight with just over two minutes left in the game. Soles went on a six point run to take them within two, but Aaron Valdes missed a final three-point attempt, meaning Ferro walked away the winners by two points.
Jezreel De Jesus finished with 25 points for Capitanes de Arecibo, who had a slender lead shortly after the game got underway, but an eleven-point run from Fuerza Regia put them ten points in the lead and they did not look back. Led by Jordan Glynn and Juan Toscano, Monterrey’s big scoring both in the paint and from long range saw them on top for the game’s remainder, leading by as much as 20 points. Capitanes showed some good low post play in the final quarter, but it was too little too late. Monterrey got their 2018 campaign underway with an opening win at home, 79 to 67.
The next day, Ferro led Capitanes de Arecibo by twelve at the end of the first quarter. Arecibo responded by reaching within one of their opponents, but Ferro were in a different class. Playing confident, skillful basketball, they were on target consistently throughout the game, making nearly three quarters of all their two-point attempts. Aaron Harper led all scorers with 22 points for Ferro, as they went 2-0 in the group, winning here 101 to 79.
Sparks flew in the all-Mexican showdown between Monterrey and Mexicali. 23 first-quarter points from Soles gave them a huge early advantage, and it took Fuerza Regia’s excellent three-point shooters to the end of regulation to narrow the gap. 11 points from Monterrey in the final three minutes took them from nine down to level, and with the game become ever-more heated, there was nothing to separate the teams at the final buzzer.
Towards the end of OT, a foul shot from Mexicali’s Ramon Barreno put them up by four with 25 seconds to go. Juan Toscano responded for Monterrey with a jump shot, and then handed off to Cristian Cortes for the three-point attempt with seconds to go. Cortes’s shot dropped, and Monterrey celebrated victory in this close encounter by 85 points to 84. This win also meant that neither Mexicali and Arecibo could qualify to the next round.
Mexicali salvaged some pride against Arecibo, in what was to be the last game of the tournament for both teams. The Mexican team led by 25 points mid-way through the second quarter, to which Arecibo responded with seventeen unanswered points, and reaching within two in the second half, but Mexicali’s strong play in the paint helped them see out their sole win of this year's America's League. The final score: 104-95 to Soles de Mexicali.
In the battle for Group A supremacy, Ferro and Fuerza Regia exchanged baskets early on, but two separate seven-point runs from Ferro saw them take a big advantage. Benoit Mbala had a great game for Monterrey, scoring 19 points off the bench and missing only two shots in open play, but it would not be enough to help his team catch up to Ferro, who played exceptionally well from the field and made eight three-point shots on the night. A well-deserved 85-72 victory saw Ferro advance as group winners, while Fuerza Regia also advance to the next round but as runners-up.
The 2018 Americas League now moves to Chile, where Group B will be played from the 26th to the 28th of January. For all the build up to the next phase of the competition, and for further information on all the games of Group A, visit the tournament's official website.
