SANTIAGO (Chile) – Instituto withstood a valiant fourth-quarter effort from CDC Leones to collect a key road win, 81-77, to get back to a winning record in Group D of Basketball Champions League Americas in the opening of the second slate of Group Stage games. The Argentinian club beat their Chilean counterparts for the second time and secured the head-to-head matchup that would earn them a ticket to the next round in case of a simple tie.
Turning point
Álex Negrete’s mid-range bucket from the left side with 8.5 seconds left in regulation sealed the deal for Instituto, putting them ahead 81-76. Lucas Victoriano’s guys had taken control of the game with a 20-10 run in the second quarter to go up 45-39. They then uncorked another 23-15 run to make it 68-54 before Leones reacted and made things interesting down the stretch. Jerry Evans Jr. drained a three-pointer from the top of the arc to make it 79-76 with 36 seconds left before Negrete stuck the dagger for Instituto.
Player of the game
Besides the game-winning shot, Negrete finished with 14 points (7-for-8 at the line), 3 rebounds and a pair of assists coming off the bench. Bautista Lugarini led the attack with 15 points, 6 boards, 3 dimes and 2 steals.
Fellow reserve Nicola Pomoli added 14 points, Nicolas Copello produced 12 points and 4 assists, and Lee Aaliya finished 11 points and 5 boards. For Leones, Evans led the way with 16 points (4 three-pointers) and 9 rebounds, Roquez Johnson (15), Joshua Webster (13 and 7 assists) and Luis Martínez (10) also scored in double digits.
Stats don’t lie
On a game that was statistically even across the board, Instituto’s bench was the difference with their 36 points (28 from Negrete and Pomoli alone) to Leones’ 21. The squad from Cordoba also won points off turnovers (13-5) despite having more turnovers than their opponents (12-9).
Bottom line
Instituto improved to 2-1 in Group D and will face undefeated SESI Franca (2-0) on Friday. The winner will guarantee their spot In the Quarterfinals. Leones (0-3) will be back in action on Saturday in a must-win game against Franca. A loss would eliminate them from the competition.
FIBA