BCL Americas team rankings as round two approaches

 MIAMI (United States) – Brazilian teams, Flamengo, Sao Paulo and Minas finished the first round of BCL Americas play undefeated and showed that they are serious candidates to advance to the Final 8. Puerto Rican team, Cangrejeros de Santurce, did not know defeat either and was one of the surprises, while the disappointment was last year’s runner-up, Real Estelí of Nicaragua, who lost twice at home.

Taking the first rounds play into consideration for all of the Groups, this is how our team rankings look as we get ready for the second window that will be played between January 28 and February 2.

1. Flamengo (Record 2-0)

The current champion had a formidable first stage and looked the most dominant of all the teams in the tournament. At the start of Group D, they went undefeated at home against Boca and UdeC, dominating them winning by a margin of 22 and 17 points, respectively. Flamengo combines power in the lane coupled with an effective perimeter game making them a tough team to gameplan for. In the Brazilian NBB right now they are on a six-win streak and sit in second place in the table.

2. Sao Paulo (2-0)

São Paulo showed why they are among the favorites by taking the lead in Group B on the road in Santiago del Estero. First, they beat Nacional and then mighty Quimsa on their court. Power forward Bruno Caboclo (20.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.5 blocks) was decisive in the victories, as were veterans Shammell Stallworth (16.5 points) and Marquinhos (16.0). They recently lost some players due to the pandemic, which led couple of defeats in their domestic league, but little by little they have been recovering to face the challenge that comes in Montevideo.

3. Minas (2-0)

In the initial matches of Group C at home in Belo Horizonte, Leo Costa led Minas was solid in every facet of the game and in the NBB they have followed with the same (13-3). Moving into round two in Uruguay, with a full squad, there is no reason to think that they will not be able to sustain what they did in the first round. Minas led all BCLA teams in scoring per game in the opening round with an average of 95-points per game. Since the first round, they defeated both Flamengo and Sao Paulo to win Brazil's Super 8 Cup. If they bring that momentum in the second stage, they could be a big change in our next rankings.

4. Cangrejeros (2-0)

Santurce showed in Group A that they have a lot of talent and scoring ability. We did not include them in the first three places of this ranking since their domestic league is not active and Cangrejeros last game was more than a month ago. But without a doubt, "Larry" Ayuso’s squad have solid rebounding and several alternatives to produce points. Now that they will be able to play at home, they should be even more dangerous, however, the lack of continuity is a factor to take into account.

5. Quimsa (1-1)

The brand-new leader of the Argentine National League at 13-3, could not take full advantage of playing at home in their first games when they ran into a very effective Sao Paulo team, but now with more games and success under their belts in the Liga Nacional de Básquet, the group seems ready to compete at a high level for this new stage at the Antel Arena in Montevideo. With the leadership of coach Sebastián González and the help of Eric Anderson, Juan Brussino, Franco Baralle and Iván Gramajo, Quimsa will always be a difficult team to beat in any scenario.

6. Boca Juniors (1-1)

The Xeneizes are second in Group D after losing to Flamengo and beating UdeC. Now they will be in the friendly confines of La Bombonerita where they will try to play more consistently especially against teams like tournament favorite, Flamengo. The team has the tools in Leandro Vildoza, Federico Aguerre, Leo Schattmann, Adrián Boccia, David Nesbitt and Eloy Vargas. They provide great depth that they have shown it in the Argentine league (10-4), so the stage is set to put on a good show in front of their fans and fight for the top of the group.

7. Bigua (1-1)

The historic Uruguayan club was on a roller coaster in the games that marked the beginning of Group C, losing heavily to Minas and then beating Obras by just four points, in a duel plagued by errors that they overcame in the end. In round two, they will host and they must take advantage of that advantage to continue in the fight towards the Final 8. In their domestic competition they have only lost three times in 13 games, but two of those defeats have been in their last two outings. Donald Sims (19.0 points) will need more support, especially from Victor Rudd (11.0) in order to reach their ultimate BCLA goal.

8. Stingers (1-1)

The Canadian debutants sent a strong message to the entire league that they are not an easy opponent. They made it clear that they have a lot of versatility on their team and that they are very well coached. They first beat Estelí and then lost to Santurce, but Trahson Burrel, Mikhael McKinney and Chad Posthumus were a headache for both opponents. As with Cangrejeros, their local league is inactive at this time of year, so the rhythm that the players will bring is a big question mark.

9. Real Esteli (0-2)

The “Tren del Norte” was the disappointment in Group A due to its poor execution on defense against Stingers and Cangrejeros, while playing at home. Last year’s runner-up allowed an average of 87.5 points, the second worst mark behind Nacional, and shot 50% from the free throw line. Now they will travel to Puerto Rico, with practically no margin for error, but the positive thing for them is that having half of their squad made up of Puerto Rican players (Balkman, De Jesús, Díaz, Franklin, Mojica, Romero and coach David Rosario) They will surely have the support of a good part of the fans.

10. Obras (0-2)

The Argentine quintet did not have a good time in the first round against Minas and Biguá in Belo Horizonte, but they have had time to improve since and for these Group C matches in Uruguay, they could show a better effort at “home”. In the National League, led by Bernardo Murphy, Obras has looked good (9-6), which leads to optimism moving into round two. Uruguayans Joaquín Rodríguez and Emiliano Serres have a nice opportunity to shine in their home country.

11. UdeC (0-2)

The Chilean troop on paper have a very difficult task in Group D competing against two giants from the region in Flamengo and Boca, however, they do not lose hope of making a splash. In the first phase they stood up to Boca in a match that was not decided until the last minutes of the final quarter eventually falling by nine points. It is likely that this time it will be more difficult because the Xeneizes will be on their court, but in the same way everything adds up for the UdeC who aspires to continue growing at this high level of basketball.

12. Nacional (0-2)

The other Uruguayan team in the competition, Nacional, allowed the most points (89.5 average per game) in their first matches ultimately leading to the worst deficit in points (-35) of the tournament. A large part of their hopes in Group B depend on what they can do in this round where they will serve as hosts, but they need a change of direction because they have not been having a good time in the Uruguayan league either, sitting 11th in the table with a record of 5-6 including falling in their last two consecutive contests.

FIBA