GUYANA suffered a 20-point blowout (53-93) against Paraguay in the opening game of their FIBA AmeriCup 2021 pre-qualifiers campaign in Tunja, Colombia last Friday.

Already shorthanded without the services of AEK Athens power forward Delroy James, who had to miss the tournament due to not having his Guyanese passport renewed in time, coach Junior Hercules’ men struggled in the first quarter where they scored just one point, as compared 27 by Paraguay.

However, behind Anthony Moe (13 points), Guyana outscored Paraguay 17-3 in the second period, to end the first half trailing by just six points (18-24).
The two sides went neck-to-neck, trading baskets in the third stanza, with Moe, captain Stanton Rose (9), Kevon Wiggins (9), debutant Yonnick Tappin (6) and Travis Burnett (8) playing exceptionally well at both ends of the floor.

A 16-point scoring blitz both sides saw Paraguay 67-35 heading into the final period.
Guyana, despite putting in a good account for themselves, felt the pressure of a dismal first-period performance, making the mountain of points to climb to come back difficult.
Paraguay outscored their South American counterparts, whom they were facing for the first time, 26-18, to cruise home for an easy but entertaining win.

Moe had 11 rebounds and two blocks to go along with his 13 points on the night. For Paraguay, Bruno Zanotti was their best player, scoring 15 points, and guard Ramon Sanchez had 12.
Guyana played the home side Colombia last evening.