Brazil rout Argentina 74-33 in the final of the 2011 FIBA Americas C’Ship for Women
After ruthlessly knocking down every opponent, who stood in their path throughout the tournament, the Brazilian women basketball team saved their best for the last – the final of the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship for Women.
Taking on their arch rivals Argentina, the Brazilians stormed into the court with a 13-0 spurt and never looked back after that, romping to a 74-33 win.
By the time the game ended, the Argentineans, a basketball force in their own right, finished with only 33 points, about half (15) of which came from free throws. Carolina Sanchez was the only notable performer for them with 12 points and 11 boards. Except her, no other player managed more than 5 points.
Brazil completely dominated the Argentineans in all facets of game. They made half of their shots from the two point range as compared to 15.4 percent by the Argentineans, who also got out-rebounded (55-39) and out assisted (12-4).
In short, the Argentineans were simply no match for Brazil.
Team Brazil was marshalled by their 6 ft - 5in centre Erika De Souza Machado, who grabbed a game high 16 rebounds to go with 13 points. Patricia de Oliveira had 12 points and 4 steals; Damiris Dantas chipped in with 10 points while guard Adriana Pinto finished the game with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
After racing to a 16-4 lead in the first ten minutes, Brazil continued to torment the Argentineans and rattled them with 17-6 run in the first 7:34 to stretch their lead to 33-10. Things got even worse for the Argentines after the break. Capped by a 10 point unanswered run, Brazil ended the third quarter at 26-8 and took their lead 59-19.
After being drubbed for 30 minutes on the court, Argentina finally showed some fight in the last quarter and managed to end it just one point behind at 14-15. However, it just saved them from an even heavier defeat.
With the win, Brazil also booked a place in the 2012 London Olympics. The Argentineans however will now have to go through the Olympics qualifying round, due to start in June next year.
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