Ecuador starts with victory in the South American Girls' U14 Basketball Championship
The national team, led by Argentine Miguel Salvitelli, defeated Paraguay 68-52 at the Abel Jiménez Parra Coliseum in the Samanes Park.
Blanca Quiñónez became the most effective player of the Ecuadorian team by scoring 28 points, including 10 two-pointers, 1 three-pointer, and 5 free throws.
Quiñónez also had 4 assists, missed 14 two-point attempts, missed 8 free throws, had 11 defensive rebounds, 3 offensive rebounds, and didn't attempt any three-pointers.
The rest of the baskets for Ecuador were made by María Cabrera (13), Justin Sanpedro (11), Aixa Benalcázar (6), Gía Zambrano (6), Fátima Corozo (2), and Jomelli Aias (2).
From the beginning of the game, Ecuador showed an offensive strategy and finished the first quarter with a score of 14-5 in their favor. They extended their lead to 20 points in the second period, bringing the score to 33-13.
In the third quarter, the Paraguayan team tried to improve their shooting accuracy, but Ecuador remained cohesive in defense and attack, maintaining a lead of 48-27. In the fourth quarter, the Ecuadorian team rotated their players and struggled a bit, but still maintained the advantage to win with a final score of 68-52.
Ecuador faced Uruguay at the end of the edition, and today at 20:00, they will play against Brazil, who played against the Paraguayan team yesterday.
In Paraguay, the most effective shooters were Coral Villalba and Pamela Encina, who scored 15 points each. They were joined by Nicolle Cabrera with 8 points, Guadalupe Dávalos with 7 points, María Godoy with 5 points, and Giovana Bogado with 2 points.
Other matches
In Group B, the Brazilian team also came out victorious. They won their match against Uruguay with a score of 48-44.
The partial scores of the four quarters were 9-9 in the first quarter, 23-21 in favor of Brazil in the second quarter, 36-31 in favor of Brazil in the third quarter, and 48-44 at the end of the game.
The Brazilian player Ana Ferreira had a remarkable performance, scoring 13 points. (D)