Argentina 84, Dominican Republic 58: Delfino strikes back with points and efficiency

Carlos practices his shooting one hour before the game (photo by Sebas Adúriz)

Our favorite Argentinean Sebas Adúriz (aka Palomba) is in Mar del Plata for the FIBA Americas tournament this week and was kind enough to file the following report. You can also check out his previous report from the Brazil/Argentina game. Thanks Palomba!

FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifiers: September 8, 2011. Islas Malvinas arena, Mar del Plata, Argentina

Argentina ended group play at the FIBA Americas Championship on Thursday with a solid victory against the Dominican Republic, defeating John Calipari's club 84-58. The game decided nothing other than places for Saturday’s semifinals: now Argentina will face Puerto Rico and Brazil will face Dominican Republic. Winners earn tickets to London 2012 and play in the finals on Sunday.

The game was a good one both for Argentina and Carlos Delfino, arguably one of the night's best players with Luis Scola (25 points) and Federico Kammerichs, the backup PF who replaced the injured Andres Nocioni. Though unknown to NBA fans, Kammerichs is a local veteran who scored 10 points and blocked 4 shots, including one on Al Horford. 

Carlos played a total of 28 minutes, mostly distributed between the first quarter and the last two. The third period, when the game was still in dispute, showed him in excellent shape, doing what he does best: a bit of everything. While starters Pablo Prigioni and Manu Ginobili were resting, Carlos was in charge of most of the offensive sets and was an important factor in Scola's continued scoring. He also added added five points to his personal account, and closely guarded Francisco García, holding the Kings' swingman scoreless in the period. With the game completely in favor for Argentina, Carlos added eight more points in the final quarter.
 
Summing it up, Carlos had the kind of valuable performance that Bucks fans have become accustomed to, helping his team find their balance and a fluid circulation of the ball: 16 points, (6/10 FG, 4/6 threes), eight rebounds, two assists and three steals.   

 

A fact to note: while against Brazil Carlos had the lowest shooting percentage on the team, against the Dominicans he had the highest: (60 %, followed by Scola with 56%).     
    
Extra Buck: Charlie Villanueva was also in the game but came off the bench and scored just four points (2/7 fg) in 17 minutes. He's been a major disappointment for basketball fans here:  he's looked overweight, slow and has been of little help to García and Horford.

Argentina (84): Pablo Prigioni 0, Manu Ginóbili 17, Carlos Delfino 16, Federico Kammerichs 10 y Luis Scola 25. From the bench: Juan Gutiérrez 4, Hernán Jasen 9, Fabricio Oberto 3 , Pepe Sánchez 0 y Martín Leiva 0. Coach: Julio Lamas

República Dominicana (58): Luis Flores 4, Francisco García 12, Ricky Sánchez 2, Jack Michael Martínez 8 y AL Horford 16. From the bench:  Charly Villanueva 4, Eulis Baez 4, Ronald Ramón 8, Elpidio Fortuna 0, Kevin Peña 0, Elys Guzmán 0. Coach:  John Calipari

Carlos and coach Julio Lamas with the press after beating Domincan Republic (photo by Sebas Adúriz)