MIAMI (United States) – Boca Juniors defeated Toros de Chiriquí in Group B to become the 5th team to qualify for the BCL Americas Quarterfinals. The blue and gold joined Flamengo, who secured their spot the day before in the same zone, plus Minas (Group C) and SESI Franca and Instituto (Group D). Meanwhile, defending champions Quimsa recovered to win their first game of the tournament, beating Biguá to tie them for the second spot in Group C. This is how the Tuesday slate unfolded:
Toros de Chiriquí 63 – 83 Boca Juniors
Boca (2-2) led wire-to-wire in their victory over Toros de Chiriquí (0-4) at Arena Roberto Durán in Panama City to advance to the next round.
José Vildoza and Martín Cuello (9 rebounds) scored 15 points apiece to lead the attack. Andrés Ibargüen added 13 points, Santiago Scala had 12 and Thomas Cooper another 11. The Argentinians set the tone in the first half by going up 46-31 into intermission. That allowed them to cruise the rest of the night despite Toros getting within 7 (50-43) in the third quarter. The Buenos Aires club quickly reacted to go back up by double digits behind their main weapons: outside shooting and transition offense. Boca shot 11-for-22 from long distance for a torrid 50 percent. They algo scored 16 fast break points to only 3 for the Panamanians. For Chiriquí, 38-year-old Michael Hicks led the way again with 19 points and 5 rebounds. Another veteran, 44-year-old Jaime Lloreda added 14 points, while Guillermo Navarro chipped in 12 and 8 rebounds.
Biguá 66 – 79 Quimsa
Quimsa (1-3) played a solid first quarter and beat Biguá (1-3) on the road at Estadio 8 de Junio in Paysandú, Uruguay, to stay alive in Group C. The defending champions needed a win to stave off elimination and came through against the Uruguayan squad that had beaten them (72-70) when they played in Argentina. Leandro Ramella’s guys controlled the action throughout most of the game until Biguá took a 53-52 lead in the final minute of the third quarter. However, Quimsa started the final period on an 8-0 run behind long-range strikes from Arnold Louis and Patricio Tabarez to get back in front 59-53. The Argentinians managed to put it away with another 8-0 (on another three-pointer from Tabarez and 5 straight points from Agustín Pérez) to go up 72-60 with 2:53 left in regulation. They ended up winning the quarter by a score of 27-13.
Nicolás Romano (18 points) and Pérez (17) led the way for Quimsa. Louis and Tabarez added 12 and 11 points, respectively. The key for the Santiago del Estero club was their dominance around the rim. They won the rebounding battle 43-30 (15-5 on the offensive glass) and scored 36 points in the paint against just 20 for Biguá. They also had a 12-4 edge in second chance points. Andre Spight led Biguá with 21 points, while Matías Espinoza added another 12.
FIBA