Argentina and Venezuela took the first two places in Group B and advanced to the Semifinals of the FIBA​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​a Colombia, Colombia, U-17 South America, Argentina and Venezuela in the La Gota FrÃa Coliseum in Valledupar, Colombia. The two teams are joined by Brazil and Chile, who in Group A already secured their place in the next round the previous day.
In the Semifinals, which will be played this Sunday, Brazil will play Venezuela against Venezuela, starting at 7:00 pm local time, and Argentina will play Chile (9:30 pm). Other teams will continue to play reclassification matches for places from 5 to 8. See HERE all schedules.
This is what happened on the last day of the Group Stage:
Paraguay 58 – 51 Ecuador
JoaquÃn Duarte and Augusto Cárdenas scored 20 points each to lead Paraguay (1-2) to victory over Ecuador (0-3) to secure third place in Group A.
The match was very interesting but in the last action the Guarani made four of their seven triples in the game, and the balance was in their favor. 3 of the hits in the last 10 minutes came from Cárdenas and another from Duarte, serving to lead by 12 (56-44) with 3:02 minutes left. That difference was decisive at that point because the closest Ecuador could get was 5 (56–51) with 22 seconds on the clock.
Cárdenas finished with five hits from long distance in addition to five rebounds. Duarte had 7 boards, with 1 steal and a block. BenjamÃn Flores was also important in the victory with 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 recoveries.
Kevin Preciado scored 15 for the Southerners. Carlos Hurtado had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Luis Guzmán added another 13 points.
Chile 29 – 86 Brazil
Diogo Alves gave a great performance in his perimeter game, and with 23 points and 7 triples, he led the comprehensive victory of Brazil (3-0) against Chile (2-1) to finish as the unbeaten leader of the group. A.
The Brazilian team is superior in all statistical areas and sends the message that it is a strong candidate for the semifinals. Jonathan Moreira, who looked very good in this group phase, shined again with his 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Interns Gustavo Guimarães (12 goals and 7 boards) and Enrico Borio (8 and 10) continued their good run in the competition.
For the southern team, only Mateo Manfredi reached double digits in scoring with 12, thanks to four hits from behind the arc. Francisco Saravia followed him with six units.
Uruguay 65 – 68 Argentina
In a perfect ending, point guard Thiago Sucatzky was decisive by making four free throws in the last 17 seconds to give Argentina a definitive advantage (3-0) against Uruguay (0-3) and thus finish unbeaten at the top of Group B.
Sucatzky finished with 15 points (8 of 10 from personal range), as well as 5 rebounds and 4 assists. His teammate Felipe Minzer (7 boards) also scored another 15 points, including a basket after an offensive rebound, which served to put the Argentines ahead, 64-63, with 1:08 left before the free kicks.
Argentina survived despite losing 23 balls worth 19 points against them, but dominated the rebounds 53-35 with 18 offensives, allowing them to control the points 10-3 for the second time.
Nicholas Petri was another standout for the winners, with 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
For Uruguay, JoaquÃn Taboada scored 27 points before leaving due to 5 fouls, while AgustÃn Möller had a double-double of 12 points and 12 boards, in addition to 5 steals. ValenÃn Curbelo contributed another 14 accountants.
Venezuela, 64 – 60 Colombia
Venezuela (2-1) defeated the local Colombia (1-2) and got second place in Group B and last place in the semifinals.
Anthony Reyes was the big man in Venezuela with 29 points (12-14 from free throws) and 8 rebounds. The guard also scored a layup with 1:27 minutes remaining to break the tie at 60 and in the end it was decided because Colombia could not score.
The coffee growers had a chance to tie it at 62 when Juan Saiz stole the ball in the middle of the court but he missed his layup and his teammate Juan Achinte was also unable to capitalize after an offensive rebound. Venezuela finally continued the rebound and went out in transition for Jeiminson Márquez to score a layup and end the game (64-60), with only 8.6 seconds on the clock.
The Venezuelans threw up to 30 balls to punish the Colombians in points after losing 23-2, but, they dominated the boards 57-32 and the second time score 15-2. Another important aspect of the victory was the team’s total shot from the free throw line 21 of 28.
Ydderick González also contributed to the Venezuelan cause with 8 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Márquez left 6 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks.
For Colombia, which did not have its best day with 28 percent efficiency from the field (21-76) and 44 percent from the penalty zone (8-18), Achinte finished with 15 points and Saiz with 13.
Highlights of the day
Anthony Reyes (VEN): Listening
PTS: 29; TL: 12–14; REB: 8; EFF: 26
Jonathan Moreira (BRA): Base
PTS: 15 | REB: 8 | AST: 4 | ROB: 4 | EFF: 24
Augustin Möller (URU): Bore
PTS: 12 | REB: 12 ​​| AST: 3 | ROB: 5 | EFF: 22
Joaquin Taboada (URU): Bore
PTS: 27 | REB: 3 | AST: 2 | ROB: 1 | EFF: 20
Felipe Minzer (ARG): Forward
PTS: 15 | REB: 7 | AST: 2 | ROB: 1 | EFF: 19
Leaders of the day
Efficiency: Anthony Reyes (VEN): 26
Minutes: Benjamin Flores (PAR): 40:00
Points: Anthony Reyes (VEN) – 29
Three: Diogo Alves (BRA) – 7
Rebounds: Multiple players – 12
Helping: Juan Durán (URU) – 9
Thefts: Augustin Möller (URU) –
Locks: Jeiminson Márquez (VEN) – 5
