Paulistano tops Group A, qualifies with Atenas to Semi-Final Phase

SAO PAULO (DIRECTV Liga de las Americas 2019) - Paulistano of Brazil (3-0) and Athens of Córdoba, Argentina (1-2) secured their qualification to the DIRECTV Liga de las Americas Semi-Final Phase after finishing Group A in the first two positions.

 Both teams booked their tickets with the victory of Malvin (Uruguay) over Titanes de Barranquilla (Colombia), by 106-97. That victory left the Uruguayan champion and the Colombian champion out of the running for the two tickets available to the next phase of the continental competition.

Paulistano and Atenas entered their game on Sunday with the reassurance of knowing that they were installed in the next instance, but the first spot of the preliminary group needed to be defined. The Brazilians made clear their superiority and prevailed by 82-63 to finish the group unbeaten.

 George De Paula with 20 points and 14 rebounds, stood out for the hosts, while Eddy Carvalho and Evan Roquemore, added 11 units each.

"The game at the beginning was locked, with strong defense, but we had more patience, we moved the ball better to get the points and we could make the difference," De Paula said after the game.

With the game this Sunday, Paulistano closed a great weekend in which they dominated their rivals with an average margin of 20 points.

"We are a young team, we appeal to the transition and to the defense. The technical management has given us the message that we must play together. That has been the philosophy ", analyzed the forward about the performance in this Group A.

"We are proud to be in the next phase. We have to maintain consistency in attack and defense, be more careful because there the demand will be greater," the 22-year-old player concluded.

For Atenas, the Olympic champion and former NBA Walter Herrmann left 20 points to be the best man on the court for the Cordovan team.

"Paulistano was very good and was a fair winner of the group. We had a neat game against Malvin, then I do not know if we were overconfident with the Titanes and that took its toll. However, we fulfilled what we came here to do. This league is very tough and in the next phase you have to go fourth to fourth, be more concentrated," assessed the historic player albiceleste.

In the previous match, Malvin needed two overtimes to defeat the Titanes. Mazzarino with 21 points, the Greek Fotios Lampropoulos with 18 and center Hatila Passos with 15 and 15 rebounds, loaded the "Playero" in regular time. Pomoli and Serres contributed 10 and six goals, respectively.

Austin Freeman with 22 accountants and Xavier Roberson with 19, stood out for Titanes. Elder Giménez and Michael Hinestroza added 15 per head.

FIBA