Fuente: © FIBA (Federación Internacional de Basket)
http://www.fiba.org/

FIBA: ARG - Boca are kings of the south

/noticias.info/ MAR DEL PLATA (Liga Nacional) - Boca Juniors clinched Liga Nacional's South Zone with a hard-fought 98-89 victory over Quilmes of Mar del Plata.

Boca led 30-21 at half-time, but found themselves on the receiving end of a Quilmes fightback in the second half before stepping up a gear to triumph in what was the final round of matches.

Boca will now compete in the 'Super 8', a mid-season competition pitting the top four teams from the North Zone against the top four teams from the South.

Boca's Paolo Quinteros and Quilmes' Patrick Savoy shared the honour of being the game's leading scorers with 31 points each, while Willard Ford also bagged 24 for the leaders.

Ciclista Juninense secured second spot with a 85-81 victory at River Plate, who finish fourth. Both sides will join Boca in the Super 8.

Ciclista dominated for much of the game, but River fought back in the final quarter to set up a nervy finish.

Kevin Lyde (22 points), Maurice Spillers (21) and Leopoldo Ruiz Moreno (20) almost managed to pull off a terrific comeback.

For Ciclista, the key men were Juan Cangelosi with 22 points and Andres Rodriguez with 16.

Elsewhere, Pablo Rodriguez inspired Penarol to third place with a 34 points in their 93-78 win over Estudiantes.

Penarol controlled the game, winning the first half 51-36, and although Estudiantes fought back in the second half they couldn't cut the 15-point deficit.

"I was a great effort, playing several games in few days," said man-of-the-match Rodriguez.

"The Super 8 seemed to be far away for us, but game by game we clinched it, because we did not waste the opportunities we had."

Finally, Deportivo Madryn beat Gimnasia y Esgrima 81-77, but still finish bottom of the group.

The second round will be played by all 16 top-flight teams in a single group.

Each team will carry 50% of the points they collected in the first stage.

League results and ranking here. notas_de_prensa_archivo