2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men
Saturday, July 1, 2006
GAME #2 (Argentina 90, v. Brazil 73)

Contact: Mary Ullmann Japhet 210-414-9030
Saturday, July 1, 2006

Semifinals - USA/Canada, began after 5 p.m. CDT

FIBA AMERICAS U-18 CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MEN SEMIFINAL

SAN ANTONIO - Argentina earned a spot in Sunday's gold medal game with a 90-73 victory over Brazil Saturday in the semifinals of the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship for Men.
Argentina (4-0 in the tournament) will play the winner of USA and Brazil at 5 p.m. Central Time at St. Mary's University's Greehey Arena. Brazil (1-2) takes on the loser of USA and Canada for the bronze medal at 3 p.m.
All four semifinal teams have qualified for the FIBA U-19 World Championships in July 2007, at a site to be determined.
Argentina, which led by as much as 24 points in the game, was paced by guard Nicolas De Los Santos, who scored 21 points and amassed five assists. Forward Sebastian Vega added 20 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Brazil, which led briefly in the first quarter, had a 25-point performace from center Paulo Prestes who scored a game-high 25 points. Prestes also accounted for 16 rebounds.
Argentina shot 56 percent from the field to 32 percent for Brazil. A key factor was Argentina's three-point game, shooting 43 percent to only 5 percent for Brazil. The two teams tied in rebounds with 41 each.

FIBA AMERICAS U-18 CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MEN
at St. Mary's University's Greehey Arena
San Antonio, Texas

Saturday's semifinals
ARGENTINA 90, BRAZIL 73

Argentina - Gerbaudo 2-3 3-4 8, Nicolas De Los Santos 5-8 10-14 21, Ruiz 0-2 0-0 0, Sebastian Vega 8-9 3-5 20, Pineiro 1-5 0-0 3, Cecchi 2-3 0-0 5, Traverso 1-3 0-0 2, Morales 2-2 5-9 9, Uranga 2-6 0-2 5, Orlietti 1-2 0-0 2, Fabian Sahdi 3-6 4-4 10, Aguerre 1-1 3-4 5. Totals - 28-50 28-42 90.

FG% - 56%
3-PT.FG% - 43%
FT% - 67%

Brazil - Campos 1-6 3-6 5, Rodrigo Souza 0-1 0-0 0, Mellazo 3-7 2-3 8, Ferreira 0-6 ilva 4-4 4, Duarte 3-12 0-0 6, Almeida 1-5 0-2 2, Camara 1-4 3-4 5, Rafael Souza 4-9 3-6 12, Leichtweis 1-4 0-0 2, Silva 2-6 0-0 4, Paulo Prestes 10-22 5-11 25. Totals - 26-82 20-36 73.

FG% - 32%
3-PT.FG% - 5%
FT%- 56%

3-point goals - Argentina 6-14 (Gerbaudo 1-1, Vega 1-1, Cecchi 1-2, Uranga 1-2, De Los Santos 1-3, Pineiro 1-3, Sahdi 0-1, Ruiz 0-1), Brazil 1-20 (Rafael Souza 1-4, Leichtweis 0-1, Silva 0-1, Camara 0-1, Rodrigo Souza 0-1, Campos 0-2, Mellazo 0-2, Duarte 0-6).

Total fouls - Argentina 34, Brazil 35. Fouled out - Argentina:Vega, Cecchi. Brazil: Campos, Duarte, Camara. Technicals - none.

Rebounds - Argentina 41 (Vega 10), Brazil 41 (Prestes 16).
Assists - Argentina 18 (De Los Santos 5), Brazil 11 (Campos, Duarte, Prestes, with 2 each).
Steals - Argentina 8 (Cecchi, Morales, with 3 each), Brazil 15 (Campos 4).
Blocked shots - Argentina 4 (Pineiro 2), Brazil 3 (Ferreira, Almeida, Prestes).
Turnovers - Argentina 31, Brazil 20.

Officials - Jose Anibal Carrion, Oleg Latisevs, Pablo Sosa.


Sunday's schedule
Times listed are Central

1 p.m. - 5th/6th place - Uruguay vs. Bahamas

3 p.m. - Bronze Medal - Brazil vs. USA/Canada loser

5 p.m. - Championship - Argentina vs. USA/Canada winner


Guillermo Navarte, Argentina Head Coach
QUOTE:

“We did a great job in the first half, we got into a rhythm. The third and fourth quarter determined the game. There was a lot of pressure and we had to really focus. We all knew we had to dominate…Little by little the team started dominating and making their presence known in the game.

…We really took advantage of our free throw shots.

Our main objective was to qualify for the world championships. We’ve done that and now we’d like to come out first in the zone. We’d really like to get the gold medal. We’ll be ready for tomorrow. We’re excited. We respect our competition. We want to enjoy this moment.”


NAME: Sebastián Vega
Player, #7 Argentina
QUOTE:
“This is something the team deserves with everything we’ve been through including the Global Games. This was a really good game and we’re ready to give it one-hundred percent tomorrow.

At the beginning of the first quarter we came out a little nervous and excited, but after that we were able to relax, do our thing, and play well.”


NAME: Nicolas De Los Santos
Player, #5 Argentina
QUOTE:
Because Brazil is known for dominating in South American soccer:

“Playing against Brazil gives them an extra point, but luckily we were able to win and for that we are very happy.”

Commenting on the last half-court shot:

“I was just so happy. I threw the ball up just for fun. I never would’ve imagined that it would’ve gone it. I was just so happy, then it went in and that made it even better.”

Commenting on the Argentinean fans:

“They hosted our team for dinner on Thursday, so we had already met them.”

NAME: José Alves Santos Neto
Head Coach, Brazil
QUOTE:

“As a team, Argentina is very good so we have to be careful because when they start playing well they won’t stop they just keep getting better and better.”

“We just believe in each other and play hard every time.”

“Argentina has a good team, but the point was our defense did a good job to isolate a good finish from Argentina, because they are a good team and once they start playing no one can stop them.”
Basketball -- Argentina/Brazil


URUGUAY/BAHAMAS re-sent with three-point goals

URUGUAY 79, BAHAMAS 60

Uruguay - Federico Alvarez 4-6 7-12 15, Gomez 0-0 1-2 1, Cavalli 0-0 0-0 0, E. Gonzalez 0-7 1-2 1, Federico Haller 8-15 1-2 18, Alfonso Gonzalez 5-12 3-4 17, Meira 0-1 1-2 1, Nathan 0-0 0-0 0, Yern 0-0 0-0 0, Matias Correa 3-4 2-2 10, Jayson Granger 4-10 6-8 16. Totals - 24-55 22-34 79.

FG% - 44%
3-Pt.FG% -- 45%
FT% - 65%

Bahamas - McPhee 1-5 0-0 2, Darshtyn Baker 9-23 3-4 23, Missick 0-3 0-0 0, Grant 0-4 0-0 0, Farrington 4-9 0-1 8, Davaughn Jackson 6-9 3-5 15, Cooper 0-4 0-2 0, Adderly 0-1 0-0 0, Hunt 1-2 0-0 2, Pratt 1-5 0-0 2, Thompson 4-9 0-0 8. Totals - 26-74 6-12 60.

FG% - 35%
3-PT.FG% - 11%
FT% - 50%

1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Uruguay 31 23 7 18 ------79
Bahamas 15 10 16 19 ------60

3-point goals - Uruguay 9-20 (A. Gonzalez 4-7, 2-3,Correa 2-2, Granger Haller 1-4, Meira 0-1, E. Gonzalez 0-3),Bahamas 2-19 (Baker 2-10, Adderley 0-1, Pratt 0-1, Thompson 0-2, Grant 0-2, McPhee 0-3). ,


Total fouls - Uruguay 15, Bahamas 28. Fouled out - Bahamas: Thompson. Technicals - none.

Rebounds - Uruguay 30 (A. Gonzalez 10), Bahamas 42 (Farrington 10).
Assists - Uruguay 19 (Granger 6), Bahamas 8 (McPhee 3).
Steals - Uruguay 18 (Alvarez 7), Bahamas 9 (McPhee, Missick, with 3 each)
Blocked shots - Uruguay 2 (Haller, Yern), Bahamas 2 (Farrington, Cooper).
Turnovers - Uruguay 18, Bahamas 26.


Officials - Terry Moore, Jeff Nichols, Trevor Perry