Eight teams remain as FIBA AmeriCup Quarter-Finals are set

RECIFE (Brazil) - After a hard fought group stage, eight teams remain in the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup as Dominican Republic and Venezuela clinched the final two spots as the best third place teams.

The Quarter-Finals tip off on Thursday, Sept. 8, and each match-up will be one to look forward to.

MEX vs. CAN

Canada has won all 10 of their last meetings with Mexico, by an average margin of 22 points, but their last meeting was a one-point game in the bronze medal match of the 2015 AmeriCup.

After winning just one game in 2017, Canada have already doubled that and won two games at the 2022 AmeriCup, but seven of Canada’s last eight games ended with a single-digit win margin, three of those game even ending by a single point.

Dalano Banton is averaging 19.3 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, the only player averaging 15-plus points, 5-plus rebounds and 4-plus assists in the 2022 AmeriCup.

Canada have also relied on the play of Trae Bell-Haynes who is averaging 11.7 points and 5 rebounds per game.

With the ability to have such a high-scoring offense, Canada will have to continue their precision play as they are making fewer turnovers per game than any other team averaging 10 per game.

However, Mexico are making 10 steals per game on average in this 2022 AmeriCup, the most of any team, and will look to take advantage of Canada’s ball handlers like Bell-Haynes.

Fabian James will be the Mexican player to watch, as he is another triple threat averaging 14 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in the competition.

Mexico outrank Canada in both points and rebounds per game in this tournament, but Mexico will have to stop Canada’s 54.1 percent shooting from field goal range - almost a full 10 percent better than Mexico’s 44.3 percent average.

USA vs PUR

One of the most unstoppable and successful teams in the history of the AmeriCup, USA have won 17 of their 18 AmeriCup games since the beginning of 2007, losing only this year in their first game against Mexico 67-73. They have scored 90-plus points in 13 of those 18 games, including a dominant 101-49 win over Venezuela to close out the group stage.

Norris Cole and Jeremy Pargo are both averaging at least 10 points and 4.7 assists per game for USA, with Stephen Zimmerman controlling the paint on defense averaging 9.7 rebounds per game with 7.7 of those rebounds coming on the defensive end.

Puerto Rico's Ismael Romero will challenge USA in the paint, averaging a near double-double of 12.3 points and 9 rebounds per game in the AmeriCup, while point guard Tremont Waters has made his impact since joining the Puerto Rico national team, averaging 14.3 points and 7.7 assists per game.

These two teams are evenly matched when it comes to scoring, with Puerto Rico averaging 83.3 points per game while USA is averaging just 2 more points at 85.3 per game.

USA has the rebounding edge, averaging over 10 rebounds more per game at 39.7 compared to Puerto Rico's 29.3, but Puerto Rico will use their accuracy from beyond the three-point arc to try and get the slight lead over USA.

Christopher Ortiz scored 3-of-4 three-pointers against a tough Argentina team, while George Conditt shot over 66 percent from beyond the arc in his 20-point performance against Dominican Republic.

However, USA does have a single three-point threat of their own. Cole has made 10 three-pointers in the 2022 AmeriCup, trailing only Argentina's Laprovittola who has 11, but Cole has the best accuracy from behind the arc among the players with 10-plus attempts, shooting 55.6 percent.

ARG vs. VEN

Argentina scored the most points of anyone in the competition, scoring 284 points for in Group B, averaging 94.7 points for per game on their way to a perfect 3-0 record.

Venezuela went 2-1 in a tough Group C - the only group where three teams finished with a 2-1 record - including a comeback win over Mexico where Windi Graterol, Jose Ascanio, Edgar Martinez and Jose Materan all tallied 14-plus points in one of Venezuela's best team performances of the tournament.

The two teams have met 17 times at the AmeriCup, with Argentina winning 12 of them, but the high-scoring Argentina have scored fewer than 80 points in their last four games against Venezuela.

With Gabriel Deck leading the tournament in scoring averaging 21.7 points per game, and Nicolas Laprovittola fourth in the competition averaging 18.3 points per game, Argentina will be one of the strongest offensive teams Venezuela has faced yet.

Argentina is shooting 51.3 percent as a team, while Venezuela is making just 42.3 percent of their total baskets, but Venezuela gets the edge when it comes to their defensive rebounding, averaging 27.3 defensive rebounds per game which will prevent a sharp-shooting Argentina team from a second chance at the rim.

Being able to move the ball well, Argentina is averaging 23.3 assists per game, and is averaging almost 30 points more per game than Venezuela's 67 points. They will be relying heavily on the defensive game of Graterol, as well as Yohanner Sifontes who is averaging 3.3 defensive rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.

Sifontes is also a stellar playmaker that Argentina will have to watch for, as is Argentina's own Facundo Campazzo, who has tallied 32 assists in the 2022 AmeriCup, nine more than any other player; Sifontes and Campazzo are the only two players to have made more than 10 assists in a single game in this year's competition.

BRA vs. DOM

Brazil was one of only two undefeated teams in the competition, scoring 248 points for and allowing the second-lowest against in the whole competition allowing 189 points.

Dominican Republic were in a tough group with Argentina and Puerto Rico, and their 237 points for would’ve been the second highest in any other group in the competition.

Brazil have won eight of the last ten meetings between the two teams, and Dominican Republic are looking to qualify for the Semi-Finals of the competition for the first time since 2013.

With one of the deepest, well-rounded rosters in the competition, Brazil has multiple players to watch including Yago Santos who averaged 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game as well as Cristiano Felicio who averaged 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Dominican Republic has been dominant on the boards, as Angel Delgado has grabbed 32 rebounds in the competition, the most of any player, and is the only one averaging over 10 rebounds per game at 10.7.

Dominican Republic have averaged the most offensive rebounds per game in the AmeriCup averaging 24.3, and are the only team to have grabbed more offensive rebounds (73) than defensive rebounds (70) and will be relying on second chance points against Brazil’s defense.

With their rotation of scorers Brazil have averaged 82.7 points per game, and have conceded fewer than 70 points in each of their three games.

But Dominican Republic are one of the most defensively stealthy teams in the competition averaging 8.3 steals per game and will capitalize on a Brazil team who has started slow and turned the ball over in the first quarter during the competition.

FIBA