Quimsa, Flamengo secure wins to close out first window of BCLA action

MONTEVIDEO (Uruguay) – BCL Americas first group stage of season 4 ended with Quimsa and Flamengo picking up victories in Group B and C, respectively. Here's how the two matches played out at Peñarol Palace in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Biguá 73 – 88 Quimsa

After a close win over Minas, Quimsa wanted to make a statement in Group B and go undefeated, which they managed to do in an 88-73 win.

It was Bigua who started out hot, gaining a 7-point lead after one quarter as Donald Sims once again started on a tear, tallying 14 points by the half for Bigua as they lead from their first basket to the buzzer to end the second quarter.

Quimas quickly snapped back into their regular form as Brandon Robinson and Mauro Cosolito both tipped in 7 points each by the half and cut the 7 points lead to a basket trailing 39-37.

 

Both teams struggled from the three-point line early but it was the difference from Quimsa’a bench tipping in 14 points to give them new life heading into the second half of play.

While Quimsa struggled in transition in the first half, they made sure to improve the second half commanding the boards and scoring quickly as Eric Anderson and Franco Baralle nabbed defensive boards to get Quimsa back down the floor.

They also moved the ball much better to avoid a hungry Bigua defense, and ultimately controlled the second half as they dominated deep to score in the paint and create more chances as Agustin Perez scored 11 second half points to keep Quimsa far ahead.

Victor Rudd had one of the bigger breakout performances of the game as he played almost every minute for Bigua being one of their biggest impact players, but with just three players in double-digit scoring, they could not keep up with a strong Quimsa rotation.

Nine Quimsa players finished the game with 6 or more points as Robinson led all scorers with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists while Perez added 14 points.

Rudd led all scorers with 24 points on 60 percent shooting while Sims added 18 points and Luis Santos added a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds for Bigua.

 

Peñarol 67 – 94 Flamengo

After a seven point loss to Instituto, Flamengo came back with a statement win over Penarol to move to 1-1 in Group C action as they dominated in a 94-67 win.

Flamengo set the standard early jumping out to a 9-point lead as they scored 25 points early and held Penarol to just 16. Flamengo would continue to score at least 22 points a quarter in their dominant win.

Dominant from deep, Flamengo used multiple scorers like Martin Cuello, Guilherme Deodato, and Lucas Martinez to pull away from Penarol as Charles Thomas was the key dominant player that Flamengo had to watch for in the first quarter.

 

By halftime, Flamengo extended their lead to double digits as they led 49-34 thanks to three of their final four baskets of the quarter coming from deep while Penarol managed just 7 points in the same span.

Diego Pena and David Huertas continued to be strong players in Penarol’s rotation, but their shooting struggles against a strong Flamengo team were apparent as they failed to convert from deep.

The second half saw Flamengo continue to thrive as Rafael Hettsheimeir had another dominant game on both sides of the ball, able to score from deep as well as use his size in the paint to score or grab rebounds for Flamengo.

Seven Flamengo players ended the game with 8 or more points as they had more gas in the tank to close out as they dominated the boards defensively grabbing 32 rebounds to Penarol’s 21.

Jose Vildoza had another strong performance for Flamengo as he was not only able to score and be a playmaker in all four quarters, but also pressured Penarol defensively to force mistakes.

The biggest difference was Flamengo’s ball movement, able to use quick decisions and find an open shooter good for 25 assists, while Penarol had just 8 as they struggled offensively, scoring just one point in the final two minutes of play.

Vildoza led all scorers with 18 points while Martinez added 17 points and 8 rebounds and Hettsheimer added 16 points and 9 rebounds for Flamengo in the win.

Thomas led the way for Penarol with 12 points while Pena and Huertas both tipped in 10 points, but the team as a whole shot just 38.3 percent, only three other scorers tipped in 6 or more points for Penarol.

 

FIBA