Boca Juniors open BCLA second group stage with dominant win over UdeC at home

BUENOS AIRES (Argentina) - Boca Juniors and UdeC kicked off the second stage of BCL Americas play on Friday night as Boca Juniors hosted Group D at Estadio Luis Conde in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Coming into the game, Boca Juniors had split the previous stage 1-1, losing to defending champions Flamengo, while UdeC were still seeking their first win in BCL Americas play this season.

Hot on Flamengo’s heels, Boca Juniors hopped out to a fast start against UdeC, jumping to a 13 point lead in the first quarter outscoring their opponent 28-15. Boca Juniors controlled the boards, scoring second chance points to increase their lead going into the second quarter.

While UdeC fought back and kept themselves in the game playing a back and forth second quarter, including playing tough defense and forcing Boca Juniors to commit turnovers that allowed UdeC points in transition, Boca Juniors still held a 16-point lead going into the half.

David Nesbitt had scored 10 points for Boca Juniors by halftime, with Carlos Schattmann adding another 8 for his team. Evandro Arteaga led all UdeC scorers with 8 points at the half but trailed 48-32.

Boca Juniors had a 25-point lead by the end of the third quarter, building off the momentum from their work in the first half in order to keep UdeC at bay and widen the gap heading into the final 10 minutes of play capitalizing on foul shots to increase the lead.

UdeC had their best showing of the game in the fourth quarter, managing to hold Boca Juniors to just 13 points while scoring 20 of their own, but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback. Boca Juniors took another win in Group D with the 88-66 final score.

Nesbitt led all scorers for Boca Juniors with 16. But the efforts of Eloy Vargas with 15 points, Adrian Boccia with 14 points and 9 rebounds and Leandro Vildoza controlling the offense with 11 assists all contributed in Boca Juniors’ well-rounded team effort to stay in the top two of Group D.

Though UdeC didn’t leave with the outcome they wanted and dropped to 0-3 in group play of BCL Americas, Eugenio Luzcando stepped up and finished the game with 11 points in the loss, while Windi Graterol added 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals putting in a massive defensive effort to keep UdeC in the game.

UdeC will take on Flamengo next on Jan. 29 while Boca Juniors will look to go 2-0 at home and top Group D when they take on Flamengo on Jan. 30.

FIBA