Dominican Republic and United States remain unbeaten behind big offensive displays

BUENOS AIRES (Argentina) – Dominican Republic and United States put on magnificent offensive performances to stay as the only unbeaten countries after 2 days of the FIBA U18 AmeriCup 2024, currently being played at Estadio Obras Sanitarias in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Meanwhile, Canada and Brazil recovered from Day 1 defeats and leveled their records.

PUR  54 – 93 CAN 

Center Matthew Dann was perfect from the field, shooting 7/7 to score 18 points and lead Canada (1-1) to a comfortable win over Puerto Rico (0-2) in Group B after losing their inaugural game.

The 6’11 big man also grabbed 7 rebounds and blocked a pair of shots for an efficiency rating of 25, the highest for his country.

Canada coasted throughout the game after opening a big first-half lead, taking a 59-33 advantage into halftime, and then proceeded to extend the margin. Coached by Ramón Díaz of Spain, they did most of their damage in transition (40-5 in fast break points) and notched 30 assists to just 14 for their opponents.

Jalen Roane (4 three-pointers) and Efeosa Oliogu (5 assists) also shined with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Oliver Rioux, with 9 rebounds, and Torian Lee, with 7 dimes, also contributed to the winning cause.

 

For Puerto Rico, who allowed 30 points off their 22 turnovers, center Alejandro Avilés led the way for the second consecutive day, this time with 11 points and 7 rebounds. Jayden Ramírez followed him with 10 points.

DOM  99 – 63 VEN 

Lucas Morillo and Danny Carbuccia sparked the offense for Dominican Republic (2-0), who notched another convincing win over Venezuela (1-1) to secure the first place in Group A.

Morillo scored 24 points on 10/14 shooting from the field, while Carbuccia added 19 points, 7 assists and 5 steals. Fernando De Los Santos and Yenndy Báez also scored in double digits, dropping 13 and 11, respectively, for a Dominican team that went 55-26 in the second half.

Their key was a supremacy on the boards. The Caribbeans grabbed 47 rebounds (21 on the offensive glass) against 33 for their opponents and had big leads on second-chance points (25-8) and points in the paint (52-22). They also had 17 steals and forced 24 Venezuelan miscues for a 35-10 edge in points off turnovers.

 

For Venezuela, Jeiminson Márquez again shined individually to the tune of 22 points, 5 rebounds and a block, but also had 6 turnovers. Diego Sulbarán added 13 points.

USA  150 – 54 BLZ 

Darius Acuff Jr. produced 23 points and 5 assists in just 13 minutes of game time and Christopher Brown scored 19 on 5/6 from beyond the arc in 14 minutes in a United States (2-0) blowout win over Belize (1-1) in Group B.

Both players paced a torrid attack that saw the U.S. make their first 10 shot attempts and open the game with a 23-0 run in the first 4 minutes. All 12 American players in the game made at least one basket and 8 of them scored at least 10 points. Jeremiah Fears finished with 17 points, 6 assists and 7 steals, while Morez Johnson Jr. had a 15-point, 15-rebound double-double.

Thomas Lloyd’s squad dished 43 assists and got 21 steals. They dominated in transition (54-2) and points off turnovers (43-2).

 

Belize, who shocked Brazil on the inaugural day, had Ian Parham (12 points), Josiah Moseley (11 points and 8 rebounds) and Elijah Favela (10 points) as their top performers.

BRA  74 – 66 ARG 

Patrick Perna scored 21 points off the bench to guide Brazil (1-1) to their first win of the tournament after beating Argentina (0-2) in the South American derby in Group B.

The shooting guard dropped 17 in the second half to become the X factor that tipped the scales in favor of Rodrigo Carlos’ team. Big man Enrico Borio was also instrumental in the victory with 16 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals and a block, while Mathias Vazquez added 13 points and 7 boards.

The Brazilian defense shined from the second quarter on, limiting the Argentinians to just 36 percent from the floor (24/66), while the team dominated inside with a 47-40 edge in rebounds and a 42-34 advantage in points in the paint to secure the win.

 

Tyler Kropp led the way for Argentina with 26 points and 13 rebounds, but the only other players to score in double digits were Matías Pikaluk (12) and Thiago Sucatzky (10), who made his debut after sitting out during the inaugural day. Argentina missed small forward Felipe Minzer, who suffered a cut on his face the day before.

See the group standings here.

Take a look here at Wednesday’s schedule.

Daily statistical leaders

Minutes: Enrico Borio (BRA) - 36:35
Points: Tyler Kropp (ARG) - 26
Three-pointers: Christopher Brown (USA) - 5
Two-pointers: Tyler Kropp (ARG) - 9
Free throws: Jeiminson Márquez (VEN) - 9
Rebounds: Morez Johnson Jr. (USA) - 15
Assists: Torian Lee (CAN), Danny Carbuccia (DOM) - 7
Steals: Jeremiah Fears (USA) - 7
Blocks: Mathias Vazquez (BRA) - 4
Efficiency: Morez Johnson Jr. (USA) - 29

FIBA