FIBA Americas C’ Ship 2011 Sep.8 Review (part-2) – Argentina and Brazil secure semifinal berths
Argentina 84 – Dominican Republic 58
After being stunned by Brazil in the last game, it was business as usual for Argentina as they routed the Dominican Republic, 84-58 on Thursday and booked their place in the semifinals of the FIBA Americas Championship. The hosts
will now take on Puerto Rica while Dominican Republic, which also qualified for the semis, will face the resurgent Brazilians.
On the night, Luis Scola led the Argentinean squad with a game-high 25 points along with seven rebounds, two assists and one steal. Scola spent 34 minutes on the court and shot 56 percent from the field and 100 percent from the
free throw line.
For the Dominicans, Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford finished as the top contributor with 16 points and eight rebounds while Francisco Garcia had 12 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Argentina tipped off forcefully and made an eight-point straight away to take a six point lead. Dominican Republic however crawled back and reduced the deficit to three, 17-14, lead after one.
Argentina however stretched their lead further with an 11-2 spurt early in the second. The hosts’ attack was led by San Antonio Spurs star player Manu Ginobili, who was exquisite from beyond the arc. However, with the help of Ramon
and Baez, the Dominicans pulled back and finished the first half six points short of Argentina at 39-33.
Dominicans tried to bring the lead down early in the third quarter, but Scola’s five points went unanswered and later Fabricio Oberto’s three ensured that the Argentineans remained well ahead. Carlos Delfino ended the frame proceedings
with a three and Argentina led Dominicans by 58-49 into the final quarter.
Argentina kept the assault going in the final quarter as well. They reeled off a 9-2 run early and then blew away the Dominican defense to romp to an 84-58 win.
Brazil 94 – Puerto Rica 72
Brazil thrashed Puerto Rica 94-72 victory to seize another victory and maintain their perfect record in second round of the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship on Thursday.
Marcus Vinicius Vieira Souza spearheaded Brazil with a game-high 18 points together with three rebounds and two assists. He spent 26 minutes on the hard wood during which he shot two of three from the field and four of six from
three-point range.
Angel Alamo guided the Puerto Rican offense with his 15-points, six rebounds and two assists while Renaldo Balkman also tallied 15 points.
A charged up Brazilian squad tipped off belligerently and knocked down the Puerto Ricans in the first quarter with a 29-15 burst.
Puerto Rica gathered their defence in the second quarter. They allowed Brazil to make just 18 points during second. However, their offense let them down once again as Brazil finished the first half 17 points ahead of Puerto Rica
(47-30).
The one way traffic continued in the third quarter as Brazil successfully secured another quarter in their favour and increased their lead to 77-49. The 28 point differential was just too much to cover in the final 10 minutes although
the Puerto Ricans did win the quarter 23-17, it was too little late.
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