2018 FIBA Americas League Final Four Review
The Final Four of the 2018 FIBA Americas League was held in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aries at the Polideportivo Roberto Pando, home of San Lorenzo de Almagro. They were one of three Argentinian teams to contest the final four, along with Estudiantes Concordia and Regatas Corrientes, with Brazilian stars Mogi Das Cruzes completing the field. All four teams had met or performed above expectations to make it to this stage, and with some of the continent's more dominant sides absent, this looked to be an unpredictable and competitive end to the competition.
In the first semi-final, Corrientes got the first points on the board, but their outside game was being matched by the inside game of Mogi Das Cruzes. No more than four points separated the teams up to the last minute of the half, when a three-pointer from Mogi's Tyrone Cunnell put them ahead by seven. Points in the second half came few and far between as proceedings got heated and both teams tried to contain one. The best looks came from Cunnell and Shamell Stallworth, who finished with 19 and 18 points respectively.
Corrientes were down 10 ahead of the fourth quarter, but with a continued long-range shooting effort, including four threes, they narrowed the gap to one with just over two minutes left. Stallworth then made a three for Mogi, to which Alfredo Quinteros responded with a jumper in the paint. Both tried to put the game to bed in the remaining time, but with the pressure on shots fell short and mistakes kept getting made. Stallworth pushed the lead out to four with seconds left and there was nothing more Corrientes could do in response. Outlasting their opponents, Mogi Das Cruzes advance to final with a 78-74 semi final victory.
San Lorenzo and Concordia were evenly matched early on in the second semi final, but San Lorenzo took a sizeable lead with 13 points in the last three minutes of the opening quarter. David Doblas and Jasiel Fernandez opened the second half scoring for Concordia, who after getting to within one then found it hard to find another basket. Darquavis Tucker and Gabriel Deck combined for nine unanswered points early on in the third, and as the quarter wound down San Lorenzo had an unbeaten 14-point run. They were ahead by 18 going into the final quarter, in which they started to run away with it. Concodria were unable to consistently get shots to drop, and before long San Lorenzo’s lead would be out of reach. The home team would lead by as much as 30 in the final period, but Alejandro Zubriggen put up some late points for Concordia reducing the final deficit to 101-78. With a convincing victory, San Lorenzo take the last spot in the final to the delight of the home crowd.
So it would be a Mogi Das Cruzes - San Lorenzo final, but before that the losing semi finalists would face off for third place. Corrientes got the first points on the board, then went down by one to Concordia going into the second quarter, in which they went back in front with an eight-point run. Leandro Vildoza single-handedly narrowed the gap to two for Concordia, to which Alexis Harris responded with a three-pointer, giving Corrientes a more comfortable lead. Concordia retaliated in the second half, but Corrientes were not prepared to give up a lead that went as high as seven.
Threes from Anthony Smith and Clay Tucker put Concordia ahead by one with under three minutes remaining, and despite plenty more attempts by Tucker, he couldn't put the game away for this team. With under a minute left, Corrientes's Brandon Thomas grabbed the rebound off a missed shot from Alfredo Quinteros and put it away himself. On the final play of the game Thomas turned the ball over and Alejandro Zubriggen put up a two-pointer, but was blocked by Javier Saiz. Corrientes held their nerve and weathered the last-minute drama to win the bronze medal by a single point.
Of the sixteen teams that went looking for the title of Americas League champions, the field was now down to two and only one could go all the way. This was the game that would decide the Americas club champions of 2018.
Mogi Das Cruzes got off to a great start; a three pointer from Jimmy Oliveira was followed by five points in a row from Larry Taylor, which saw the team up 8-2 after two minutes. Gabriel Deck and Javier Ferrer responded for San Lorenzo, but Shamell Stallworth began what would be a nine-point run for Mogi. They led by double digits early on, but San Lorenzo’s shooters kept finding good looks in the paint to put the pressure on the Brazilian team and narrow the gap. A three-pointer from Selem Safar gave San Lorenzo their first lead late in the second quarter, and Marcos Mata later made it a two-possession game. Daquarvis Taylor and Javier Ferrer had the best looks early in the second half for San Lorenzo, while Mogi Das Cruzes flatlined and soon found themselves down by 13. Tyrone Cunnell ended the drought for Mogi, who, down by nine with ten minutes to go, had a lot of room to make up.
Cunnell had five in a row and Guillherne Pereira made a three to put Mogi back on top by one, but no sooner did they have the lead Mathias Calfani took it back for San Lorenzo. It was tight down the stretch, but by hitting from the line after drawing fouls and getting close-range shots to drop, Gabriel Deck turned it from a one-point game to an eight-point one. Not prepared to let the game slip away from them, Mogi slowed down proceedings and tried to find a way back, but it was too little too late. Darquavis Tucker made the last shot in open play for San Lorenzo, who were ahead 79-71 at the final buzzer.
San Lorenzo's victory brings to an end what has been a really good Americas League competition. They fought long and hard throughout the competition and in the end were worthy winners, with their own Gabriel Deck also taking home the MVP award.
For more, visit the official Americas League website.
