Quimsa blow past Real Esteli, advance to Final 4

SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (Argentina) - Quimsa took care of Real Esteli, with ease, 103-67, wrapping up their series in two games to move on to the Semifinals of the 2022-23 Basketball Champions League Americas.

Quimsa dominated from the opening tip-off and on the other side, Real Esteli struggled mightily.

Everything was clicking for Quimsa, as they dropped 31 points in the first quarter with 16 of those points coming in the paint, more than Real Esteli (13). It was more of the same in the second 10 minutes with Quimsa extending their lead by 12 more points.

 

Real Esteli fell too far behind early in the game and never recovered, while Quimsa kept their foot on the gas throughout and never looked back. The home team led by as many as 41 points.

It was a balanced attack for Quimsa who had five players score in double figures. All 12 players got into the game and only one of them didn't score. Franco Baralle finished tied for a team-high 16 points in only 16 minutes off the bench, along with 3 assists and 2 rebounds on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from three-point range.

 

Kevin Hernandez had an all-around game off the bench for Quimsa with 7 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, while Fabian Ramirez fell just short of a double-double (8 points, 9 rebounds) in only 18 minutes.

Quimsa had the advantage in several key stats, including rebounds (50-36), assists (26-10), field goal percentage (50.7-34.8), points off turnovers (21-4), points from the bench (47-12), points in the paint (44-30) and also made eight more threes (15-7).

Baralle led Quimsa's bench unit with 16 points, while Rodrigo Sanchez chipped in 10 points and Agustin Perez had 8, as the three players combined for 34 of the team's total bench points.

 

Jared Ruiz (18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3-of-6 3P) and Jezreel De Jesus (17 points, 2 rebounds, 3-of-8 3P) led Real Esteli in defeat and combined to score 35 of the team's points.

After sweeping Real Esteli in two games, Quimsa will now face either Sesi Franca or Penarol in the Semifinals. Sesi Franca currently lead that series 1-0.

 

FIBA