Instituto win first Liga Sudamericana de Baloncesto title
MONTEVIDEO (Uruguay) – Instituto (ARG) overcame a 12-point deficit at halftime to beat Titanes de Barranquilla (COL) 81-72 in the Liga Sudamericana de Baloncesto Final (LSB).
MONTEVIDEO (Uruguay) – Instituto (ARG) overcame a 12-point deficit at halftime to beat Titanes de Barranquilla (COL) 81-72 in the Liga Sudamericana de Baloncesto Final (LSB). The 26th edition of this tournament was played at Palacio Peñarol in Montevideo, Uruguay.
It was Cordoba club’s first LSB title in history, who this year won the Horacio Muratore trophy after their silver medal in their 2018 participating. In addition, it was the 13th title for Argentine clubs in the history of the tournament, which makes Argentina as the country with the most LSB champions, followed by Brazil with 12 and Venezuela with one.
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The key for Instituto was a 30-11 run in the third quarter, which allowed them to take a 64-57 lead entering the fourth. Lucas Victoriano’s squad suffered in the first half after going 2-17 beyond the arc, while their opponents went 6-13. But after the half, everything changed. IACC pressed on defense and found their stride from long distance to establish themselves in the third quarter going 6-8 three-pointers.
In the final quarter, the Argentines maintained their intensity and sank 4 threes, which included one from Mauro Cosolito that sealed their win as they took a 77-70 lead, with 2:14 minutes left.
Bryan Jefferson led Instituto with a 23 point, 12 rebound double-double which included 4 three-pointers. Guard Nathan Hoover finished with 22 points and 3 triples, while Cosolito added 16 points and Gastón Elías 9, going 3-4 from the three-point line.
🎉 ¡@InstitutoACC 🇦🇷 vence a Titanes y es el nuevo campeón de la La Liga Sudamericana 2023! 🎉 #LSB2023 I @InstitutoACC pic.twitter.com/GAfzwi0INF
— Liga Sudamericana (@LSbaloncesto) December 4, 2023
Hoover was named MVP and led the All-Star Five squad along with teammate Jefferson, Gimnasia y Esgrima de Comodoro’s point guard Joshua Webster, forward Josimar Ayarza, from Caribbean Storm and center Eloy Vargas, from Titanes.
Dominican Republic’s Vargas had a double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds, in addition to 3 blocks for the Barranquilla team. Puerto Rican Jonathan Rodríguez scored 17 and Juan Tello added 9 points, with 10 boards and 6 assists.
Titanes, despite the loss, have been growing in the region. In the previous season they ranked third and now improved to second place.
FIBA