Quimsa advances to Final 8; Flamengo wins Group D

MIAMI (United States) – The second day of action of BCL Americas third group stage saw Quimsa and Flamengo win. Quimsa, the first edition Champions, became the sixth team to book their ticket to the Final 8 by taking second place in Group B. While defending champ Flamengo secured first place in Group D.

Quimsa joined São Paulo, Minas, Bigua, Flamengo and Boca Juniors, as the playoff teams. Now, only Group A remains undefined.

This is what went down on Saturday:

Flamengo 79 – 72 Boca Juniors

There is very little to be done when a team like Flamengo has this sort of shooting performance.

The Brazilians went 18/37 from long distance to defeat Boca Juniors, 79-72, and clinch the top spot of Group D Saturday evening at Gimnasio de la Casa del Deporte in Concepción, Chile.

Yago Santos led the outside attack with 20 points on a scorching 6/9 of from downtown, allowing Gustavo Conti’s squad to open a second-half double-digit lead that they schrewdly administered through the final buzzer.

 

The victory allowed Flamengo to avenge their road loss to the Argentinians in late January. This time there would be no comeback, as they kept knocking down shots to stop all manner of Boca Juniors’ runs.

Franco Balbi and Lucas Martínez added 13 points apiece from the bench for a team that shot better from three-point territory than inside the arc.

 

Boca Juniors got within six points at the end of the third but a pair of threes from Balbi allowed Flamengo to stem the tide and cruise to the victory.

Boca Juniors (3-2), who has also qualified to the next round of the 2021-22 Basketball Champions League Americas, will now face Universidad de Concepción (0-5) to wrap up Group D action.

 

Quimsa 95 – 72 Nacional

In a quintessential win-or-go-home affair Saturday night at the Morumbí in Sao Paulo (Brazil), Quimsa pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat Nacional, 95-72, clinching the second spot in Group B and advancing to the Final Eight of the 2021-22 Basketball Champions League Americas.

The Argentinians romped to a 36-19 final period, stopping the comeback attempt from the Uruguayans and eliminating them from the competition. A late three-pointer from Franco Baralle extended the lead to 20 points in the final minutes, all but sealing the deal for Sebastián González´s squad.

Davaunta Thomas led the way with 17 points, four assists and three steals.

 

The difference between both teams lied in Quimsa’s depth and firepower. The Argentinians had seven different players scoring in double-digits as they shot 50.7 percent from the field and 12 of 26 from beyond the arc.

Eric Anderson had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Baralle, Juan Brussino and Reyshawn Terry added 13 apiece, while Sebastián Acevedo contributed 12 and Pablo Gramajo 11.

 

Nacional seemed poised to make it a nail biter, getting within four points early in the fourth quarter behind the heroics of Americans Dominique Morrison and Quincy Miller.

Morrison finished with 23 points on 10/22 from the field while Miller added 21 and five boards.

 

But despite their efforts, Nacional lost the rebounding battle 44-28 and were outscored 23-8 in points off turnovers. The Uruguayans had 19 turnovers to Quimsa’s 10.

Quimsa (2-4) now joins Sao Paulo as Group B’s representatives in the next phase. Nacional will face the Brazilians on Sunday to finish their slate.

 

FIBA