Paulistano and Atenas celebrate on opening day

SAO PAULO (DIRECTV Liga de las Americas 2019) - The DIRECTV Liga de las Americas 2019 kicked-off this Friday with celebrations from Paulistano (Brazil) and Atenas de Córdoba (Argentina). The teams captured wins on the first day of Group A, which takes place at the Antonio Prado Júnior gym in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The host showed great superiority to capture a 102-55 win over Titanes de Barranquilla (Colombia), who only put up resistance in the first two minutes of the match. From then on Paulistano increased in intensity, sharpened its aim and dominated.

 
The first half the match was practically defined when the host of Group A went to the break with a 52-22 advantage. In those first 20 minutes, of their 16 field goals, 11 were three-pointers. While the Colombian champion, who was inactive since finishing its league a little over two months ago, shot for a 28% in field goals in that first half.

In the rest of the match the tonic did not change, and the locals were extending the difference against a rival who looked out of rhythm.

The 12 players of Paulistano managed to add points to the scoreboard. Guilherme Hubner with 14 points, Eddy Carvalho with 13 and Leo Meindl with 10, guided the offense of coach Régis Marrelli.

"I think it was a great start. We played hard, we did not let them feel comfortable," said Renan Lenz, who added eight points for the current Brazilian champion.

For Titanes, Michael Sneed added 15 and Michael Hinestroza 13.

Atenas de Cordoba (Argentina) in its reappearance in the international arena, achieved an important victory against Malvin (Uruguay) by 78-66. The Cordovan team dominated the match from the beginning and although in the last period suffered some shocks, had the ability to contain the opponent.

 
The Argentines controlled the first three quarters with 20-15, 36-27 and 60-44 quarters. Malvin, in the beginning of the last quarter, reacted with a partial 12-2 run and approached by 62-56 with 6:25 minutes to play; However, an agonizing double of Nicolas Romano in the last second of the possession clock, two good defenses in a row and then a three-pointer by Franco Baralle, restored calm to Atenas, who opened the gap again to 13 (69-56) with four minutes.

That reaction put a stop to the current leader of the Uruguayan league, which generally looked uncomfortable against the opposing defense.

The pivot Josh Powell with 16 points and 8 rebounds, led the attack for the team coached by Nicolás Casaláguida. Baralle and Mateo Chiarini added 13 points each.

"I give credit to the defensive aspect. We were concentrated for much of the game. I think we did well," coach Casalánguida said after the game. "Now we have to focus on our next game against the Colombian team. They have good perimeter tshooters, we have to prepare the game. We know that in those 40 minutes we are going to play for the qualification. Then we will see about Paulistano," he added.

For Malvin, Marcos Cabot was the top scorer with 14 points and Nicolás Mazzarino contributed 13.

This Saturday, Titanes will face Atenas and Malvin will take-on the host of Group A.

FIBA