Quimsa hold off Real Esteli's late push to secure Game 1 victory

MANAGUA (Nicaragua) - Quimsa went into Polideportivo Alexis Arguello and grabbed a 94-86 wire-to-wire win over host Real Esteli to kick off their Quarterfinals series in the Basketball Champions League Americas.

Quimsa jumped out to a 28-20 lead after the first 10 minutes of action before they extended their lead out to 23 points thanks to outscoring Real Esteli 28-13 in the second quarter.

Real Esteli picked up their level of play in the third quarter and outscored Quimsa 22-14 behind Jared Ruiz's 7 points in the quarter to cut their deficit to 15 points heading into the fourth quarter.

 

Terrell Holloway had a fourth quarter to remember, as the 33-year-old dropped 18 points in the final 10 minutes to help Real Esteli get the score as close as 84-79, but Quimsa quickly got points on the board to maintain their lead.

Eric Anderson knocked down a couple of clutch buckets late in the game to help propel Quimsa to the win.

 

Quimsa were led by a trio of players including Brandon Robinson, Franco Baralle and Anderson. Robinson was the top performer and finished with a game-high 28 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. The 33-year-old shot 7-of-15 from the field, 5-of-10 from three-point and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line for a 28 efficiency.

 

Baralle scored 23 points with 2 assists off the bench, while Anderson chipped in 16 points and 8 rebounds. These three players accounted for about 71 percent of the team's total scoring.

Ruiz and Holloway led the way in defeat for Real Esteli, as Ruiz scored 23 points and added 4 rebounds and 2 assists (9-of-15 FG, 4-of-6 3P), while Holloway also finished with 23 points off the bench and converted 7-of-12 shots from the field.

The two guards combined for seven of the team's eight total made threes.

Real Esteli committed 15 turnovers which led to 22 points for Quimsa. Quimsa also had a +12 point-differential in three-point shooting and dished out 19 assists compared to only 11 for Real Esteli.

The series now heads to Santiago del Estero, Argentina for Game 2, which will take place on Friday March 10 at 22:00 local time. Quimsa will be looking to punch their ticket to the Final 4, as they go for the series sweep in front of their home fans.

 

FIBA