Strong work on the glass, a balanced team effort, and clutch shooting down the stretch propelled Minas of Brazil to a third-place finish at the 2022 Basketball Champions League Americas playoffs Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, defeating Quimsa of Argentina 91-81.
Minas struggled early, trailing Quimsa by a dozen midway through the first quarter. But an Alexey Borges three-pointer with 1:37 to play in the second put Minas on top for the first time, 43-42. Juan Brussino answered a moment later for Quimsa with a three of his own, but a Guilherme Deodato three-pointer with :09 left gave Minas a 46-45 lead going into the break, and they never trailed again.
Minas led all the way through the third and into the fourth before Quimsa began its run. Another Brussino three got Quimsa to within two at 75-73 with 4:56 to play, but they would get no closer.
A three-point play by Tavario Miller with 4:02 left extended the lead to five, while a three-pointer by Renan Lenz, a layup by Borges, and a pair of Lenz free throws pushed the lead to eight with less than two minutes remaining.
Reyshawn Terry paced Quimsa with 25 points and DaVaunta Thomas added 19, but no other player for Quimsa scored in double figures, despite the team shooting 44% from three-point range and 52.5% overall.
Deodato led Minas with 24 points on 60% shooting to go along with 9 rebounds. Lenz tallied 17, Gui Carvalho had 16, and Tavario Miller scored 12 and pulled down 11 rebounds. Minas outrebounded Quimsa 36-25 and shot 45.5% from three-point range and 55.4% overall.
