South American Championships: Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina dominate
The biggest hitters in South American Basketball continued to put a stranglehold on the field on Day 3 of the South American Championships. Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela stayed undefeated to sit atop their respective groups, while Colombia also collected a second win of the tournament.
Big wins were order of the day for the giants, with Venezuela, Argentina, and Brazil all winning by at least more than 35 points.
Group A
Bolivia vs. Venezuela, 37-97
Reigning champs Venezuela moved to an unbeaten 3-0 record with a massive victory over Bolivia in the South American Championships. The country is already comfortably through to the next round with this win, and simply had too much for the Bolivians all over the court. The tournament hosts plundered 49 points and kept the guests at 23 points to take a huge lead through halftime. In the second half it was plain sailing as Anthony Perez led the home team with 27 points.
Paraguay vs. Brazil, 63-101
Brazil impressed for the third consecutive day with a blistering victory that saw the country break a century of points in downing Paraguay. The Brazilians move to 3-0 and a guaranteed a berth in the next round, interestingly the team meets hosts Venezuela next … all eyes will be on that game. The winningest nation in competition history (18 titles) were superior all over the floor on Wednesday, especially in a stunning 6-28 first quarter that set the dominant tone. Olvinha Rodriguez led the winning effort with 21 points and 7 rebounds.
Group B
Peru vs. Argentina, 43-105
Argentina sat out day 1 of the tournament due to the odd number of teams in the groups. Since then the 2012 champions have compiled two straight 100 point plus scoring efforts, moving to 2-0 atop Group B. Peru were the victims this time as Argentina went on a scoring frenzy, scoring 31 points in the second quarter and 30 in the third act. During that time, Peru managed just 18 points in 20 minutes, underlining the difference in class. Six Argentine players recorded double digits through the nets, in a good rounded offensive performance.
Chile vs. Colombia, 74-80
Colombia moved to 2-1 in Group B at the expense of Chile, which stays back on 1-1. The Colombians edged the game thanks to an excellent fourth quarter. It was a tight contest throughout and after thirty minutes the scoreboard read 56-53 in Chile’s favour. Colombia exploded in the closing act, pouring in 28 points to ensure a late victory was guaranteed.