Colombia downs Chile to stay alive in FIBA World Cup Americas Qualifiers
In agonizing fashion, Colombia lived to fight another day. A late bucket from Andrés Ibargüen Andrews gave the cafeteros the lead with 23 seconds to go and they held on to defeat Chile, 67-66.
In agonizing fashion, Colombia lived to fight another day.
A late bucket from Andrés Ibargüen Andrews gave the cafeteros the lead with 23 seconds to go and they held on to defeat Chile, 67-66, Thursday night at Coliseo Elías Chegwin in Barranquilla.
🇨🇴 Andre Ibarguen's double-double leads Colombia to pick up their first Americas Qualifiers win in Group B! #FIBAWC | #WinForColombia | @fecolcesto pic.twitter.com/VVFzjMVS4l
— FIBA Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) July 1, 2022
The home crowd celebrated as Colombia notched their first win of Group B play, allowing them to tie Chile for the third spot in the group. A loss would have eliminated Colombia and allowed Chile to move on to the next phase of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Americas Qualifiers.
In a back-and-forth affair where neither team ever led by double digits, and that had eight lead changes, Colombia drew first blood by taking the first quarter, 17-16.
Guillermo Moreno’s squad used their size advantage to get an edge on the boards and do their damage inside the paint.
Ibargüen Andrews led the way with a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double. The 25-year-old power forward shot 8/11 from the field and added a steal and a block.
He’d tied the game with 1:06 after being fouled on an offensive rebound but split a pair at the charity stripe. Chile then found themselves in the same situation, but Manuel Suárez made only one of his free throws to put them up by a point.
After Ibargüen Andrews gave Colombia the lead on a feed from Michaell Jackson, Chile held the ball for the last shot, but Darrol James couldn’t find the bottom of the net.
Chile had led by as many as nine points midway through the third quarter thanks to an effective long-distance attack.
Sebastián Suárez went 4/4 from beyond the arc en route to his team-high 18 points. Manuel Suárez added 14 points and eight rebounds, while Franco Morales had 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Chile was able to hold Colombia to just 34.4 percent from the field, but Colombia dominated the offensive glass and got enough second-chance opportunities to stay in the game.
Colombia had a 44-31 rebounding edge, including a whopping 18-3 in offensive rebounds.
🇨🇴 Colombia empieza fuerte con un stepback 3 de Braian Angola 🔥 #FIBAWC | #WinForColombia | @fecolcesto pic.twitter.com/UOJEy1G3eR
— FIBA Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) July 1, 2022
Team captain Juan Tello had 13 points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals, while Jackson contributed seven points and 11 boards.
Point guard Hansel Atencia added 12 points before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.
Despite the loss, Chile still holds the upper hand against Colombia after beating them by 14 points in late February. This means that, in case both countries lose their games on Sunday, Chile would be the one finishing third in Group B and advancing to the next stage.
Colombia (1-4) will host group leader Brazil (5-0) while Chile (1-4) will travel to Montevideo to face Uruguay (3-2) at Antel Arena.
FIBA