Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil move forward to Semi-Finals

BARRANQUILLA (Colombia) – Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil secured their ticket to the FIBA U17 Women's South American Championship Semi-Finals that are taking place at Barranquilla's Elías Chegwin Coliseum, after adding new victories this Tuesday.

Hosts, Colombia, ended with a 2-0 record in Group B and were able to move on to the best-of-four round after defeating Chile (0-2), 54-32.

The Colombian side took the reins from the beginning and with their defense kept their rivals under control. The Chileans were barely able to achieve 10 field goals in 46 attempts, for a very low 22% effectiveness rate.

Colombia was superior in all aspects, mainly in the rebounds (51-31), points from the paint (34-19) and second-chance points (24-2).

Naylee Cortés, with 12 points, led the Colombian offense, while María García and Daniela González (13 rebounds) added 10 each. For the Chileans, Martina Cousiño contributed nine points.

Argentina (2-0) was also unbeaten in Group B and grasped their ticket to the next round by defeating Uruguay (0-2) by 54-51 in an exciting duel.

A two-point shot by Génesis Toledano when there were 54 seconds left in the game, and another by Natalia Tondi when there were 19 remaining, but the final scoreboard in favor of the Argentines, who were able to resist the Uruguayan drive after they had gotten in the lead when there was a little over a minute left.

Uruguay, in the 16 final seconds, attempted three long-distance shots after a pair of offensive rebounds but couldn’t score to force the overtime.

Tondi, with 13 points, and Milagros Maza, with 12, led the Argentine attack. Toledano added nine and 15 rebounds. For the Charrúas, Maite Pereira contributed 16 points, Emilia Larre Borges 13 with 10 rebounds, and Camila Kirshenbaum 11.

As for Group A, Brazil (2-0) was left as the only leader and stamped their ticket to the next phase by overcoming Paraguay (1-1), 75-53.

The Amazonians were overpowering in the paint, and it was thanks to this game that they were able to build their important win. Brazil controlled the rebounds with 62 (23 offensive) against 33, and achieved 48 points under the rim, while their adversaries did 26. They also dominated in second-chance points, 20 to 4.

A total of three Brazilian players achieved double-double figures: Maisa Pereira, with 14 points and 10 rebounds; Beatriz Biscuola, with 11 points and 12 captures; and Adrielly Francisco, with 10 points and 15 rebounds. For the Paraguayan side, Ana Britez scored 14.

Meanwhile, Ecuador (1-1) was steadfast and stayed alive after defeating, with no setbacks, Venezuela (0-2) leaving the scoreboard at 81-33.

After an equaled first quarter (21-16), the Ecuadorians took complete control and dominated all aspects of the game against a Venezuelan team that could merely throw 22% from the field (13-60) and who lost possession of the ball 35 times.

For the Ecuadorians, who achieved 10 three-pointers in 25 attempts (40%), Karla Benítez was the best scorer, with 17 points. Alison Barreno and Daniela Argüello followed up with 12 points each, while Samy Bacilo added 10 with 14 rebounds. Stefany Ferrer scored nine points for the Venezuelan squad.

This Wednesday, in the conclusion of the group phase, Venezuela and Brazil will face each other (11:00 AM, local game time). Then, Chile will face Uruguay (1:00 PM) for the third place in Group B. Following that it’s Ecuador against Paraguay (3:00 PM) to decide the second qualifying team in Group A. Finally, Colombia will face Argentina (5:00 PM) for the top spot in Group B.

FIBA