Bolivia bounce back, Chile wins again on Day 2 of Group B

SANTIAGO DE CHILE (Chile) - The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Pre-Qualifiers rolled on in Group B following a beatdown from Chile and an impressive comeback win from Nicaragua on Tuesday.

The stacks were even higher on Wednesday, as a 180 turnaround from one team produced an unexpected result, while another club clinched the first spot in the regular qualifiers out of this specific group.

Here are the results and analysis from the second day of the event:

Bolivia 87, Nicaragua 82
Bolivia only scored 52 points on Tuesday in their blowout loss to Chile. They couldn’t shoot the 3 ball successfully. They couldn’t get anything going in transition. And they had no rhythm whatsoever on the offensive end.

One night later, Bolivia (1-1) played like a totally different team. Not only did they defeat Nicaragua to get back into the mix for a qualifying spot, but they did so with an efficient and superb offensive performance.

Bolivia put up 87 points while shooting 47% overall from the field. While they didn’t shoot it efficiently from beyond the arc, they drilled nine treys and recorded 24 total assists on 31 made baskets. Joshua Reaves led the way with 21 points, but they also saw solid production from Cristhian Camargo and bench-player Luis Choque.

Nicaragua looked like a strong contender to advance in Group B following their opening game, but their inability to take care of the ball and limit Bolivia’s speed was concerning. Norchad Omier again recorded a double-double, however, he shot just 31% from the field and received very little help from his fellow starters.

The second berth out of Group B will come down to these two clubs as Bolivia faces Paraguay and Nicaragua duels Chile on Thursday.

Chile 66, Paraguay 62
It wasn’t as easy as their opener, but the favorite in Group B, Chile (2-0), edged Paraguay (0-2) to clinch a spot in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers despite an unimpressive second half and the absence of Nicolas Carvacho.

Sebastian Suarez led the way for Chile with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, but the 6-foot-4 forward struggled to find help along the way. It was ultimately Suarez who saved Chile from the loss of Carvacho in the paint and the lack of other shot creators on the rest of the roster.

While their balanced attack vs. Bolivia was impressive in its own right, what they were able to accomplish on Wednesday proved their true mental toughness. Chile’s defense was stellar – especially in the first two quarters – and their inside presence (22 points in the paint and seven more rebounds than Paraguay) held steady without Carvacho.

Even though Paraguay lost two nail biters and won’t have an opportunity to play for the second spot out of the group, the fight they showed – especially against Chile – should not be overlooked.

FIBA