FIBA Americas Championship 2011: Argentina Beats Brazil For Title, Luis Scola Named MVP

The win is Argentina’s second FIBA Americas championship. The last came a decade ago, and represents the start of the nation’s incredible run of success. Argentina won gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics and bronze in the 2008 games in Beijing, and is now No. 3 in the world behind just the United States and Spain. Next summer’s Olympics in London could represent the end of the road for this patch of Argentine players, as the core of the team is getting up there in age.

Brazil and Argentina will join the United States in representing the Americas region at the 2012 London Olympics, thanks to wins by the rivals in the semifinals of the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship on Saturday. Brazil held off the Dominican Republic 83-76, thanks largely to point guard Marcelinho Huertas, who had eight points and two assists in the fourth quarter and 19 and seven for the game. Huertas was joined by veteran wing Marcelo Machado (20 points in 25 minutes off the bench) atop the ledger.

Like the D.R., Puerto Rico will attempt to qualify for London in July’s qualifying tournament. Brazil and Argentina will meet on Sunday to play for the Americas championship.

Brazil crushed Puerto Rico on Thursday after Argentina had done the same to the Dominican Republic on the final day of group play at the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship in Mar del Plata. Now, the South American powers will swap foes as the semifinal bracket between the four nations gets underway on Saturday.

Brazil is now the top seed in the tournament, having beaten Argentina by two points on Wednesday and Puerto Rico by 22. The Brazilians, missing three of the teams four NBA players, have just one loss in this tournament through eight games. But it came against the team standing between them and a berth to the 2012 London Olympics: the Dominican Republic.

Venezuela’s men’s national basketball team has earned a berth into the last-chance qualfying tournament for the 2012 London Olympics by virtue of a fifth-place finish in the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship. Venezuela cinched its spot with a 92-80 win over Uruguay on Thursday.

The winners of those semifinal games will advance directly to the 2012 Olympics. Team USA has already earned a berth to London by winning the 2010 FIBA World Championships. The United States did not field a team for FIBA Americas 2011.

Canada didn’t get that, either. As a result, head coach Leo Rautins resigned after Thursday’s loss to Panama in Mar del Plata.

Unfortunately for Rautins, the nation’s talent pipeline is finally looking up. Toronto’s Tristan Thompson (who did not play in Mar del Plata) was the No. 4 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, and Canada has prospects like Myck Kabongo, Kevin Pangos, Kyle Wiltjer and -- most notably -- Andrew Wiggins approaching national team age soon.

The knockout round in the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship is still a few days away, but the four teams who will meet there are set, and they all hooked up on Wednesday in Mar del Plata, Argentina, to start to sort out seeding for the semifinals. The two teams that make the championship game will earn automatic bids to the 2012 London Olympics.

Unless the Dominicans beat Argentina Thursday in the final day of the second group stage, the two teams will meet again in the No. 1 vs. No. 4 match-up in the semifinals on Saturday. Brazil and Puerto Rico also play on Thursday; if Argentina beats the Dominican, Brazil and Puerto Rico will hook up again on Saturday with an Olympic spot on the line. If Argentina loses to the D.R., the winner of Thursday’s Brazil-P.R. game would move into the No. 1 seed and likely face the Dominicans. The loser would meet Argentina. (Point differential is the tiebreaker in FIBA play; Argentina is way ahead of everyone, and the D.R. is way behind. The Dominicans are essentially stuck in fourth place, barring an amazing blowout.)

Argentina is undefeated following an impressive shooting performance on Tuesday against Venezuela and Brazil has only dropped one game, against a solid Dominican Republic team, but a recent article on FIBA’s website shows that the two teams are respectful of each other’s game.

Splitter knows what he’s up against, though, when it comes to his team’s international rival.

Former Louisville point guard Edgar Sosa suffered a horrific broken leg during the Dominican Republic’s win over Panama on Monday. Be forewarned, the link above does include a picture of the injury and it is not pretty.

Players were visibly crying on the court while Sosa was tended to. The injury was a complete break, which should keep him out of the rest of the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship. Sosa’s loss is a big one for a Dominican Republic squad on the edge of Olympic qualification.

The second group stage of the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship in Mar del Plata, Argentina, has been set after Saturday’s official elimination of two teams: Cuba and Paraguay. In the second group stage, wins by the remaining eight teams over those eliminated are removed from consideration. The final eight will now play four games apiece, with the top four teams in composite points at the conclusion of that round moving on to knockouts.

Argentina, as expected, is on top of the table, now at 3-0 after going unbeaten in the first group stage. Three teams are now tied at 2-1 after the elimination of Cuba and Paraguay: Puerto Rico, Brazil and the Dominican Republic. In addition to holding off the next four teams -- Venezuela, Canada, Uruguay and Panama -- those three will want to avoid a semifinal clash with Argentina.

In the late set on Day 2 of the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship, Brazil had the biggest match of the evening against Group A rival Canada. The teams are expected to fight for a decent seed out of the group and, given Brazil’s depleted roster, perhaps one of the precious spots in the last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament to be held next July. (The top two finishers at FIBA Americas advance straight to the Olympics, the next three teams are added to the qualifying tournament.)

The opening day of the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship featured no upsets, and just one close call. Three of the four games ended with margins of 30 points or more, as the gap between the best and worst of the region was in full view.

The most intriguing match on Wednesday’s docket is a meeting between Canada and Brazil in Group A. The Canadians aren’t expected to win an Olympic berth outright in this tournament, but are much stronger top-to-bottom than Venezuela and could test the Brazilians. In other action, the Dominicans will meet Venezuela, Paraguay will take on Puerto Rico and Argentina will face Uruguay.

The 2011 FIBA Americas Championship begins Tuesday in Mar del Plata, Argentina, with two bids to the 2012 London Olympics on the line. As is often the case, the United States won’t be participating: Team USA has already clinched an Olympic bid by winning the 2010 FIBA World Championship. That gives a wonderful opportunity for the region’s second- and third-tier teams to jump up and win an early bid.

The third, fourth and fifth place finishers will earn a trip to the last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament to be held in July 2012. That’s a 12-team field from which three teams will be added to the 12-team Olympic field. The London Olympics begin July 27, 2012.