A FIBA AmeriCup qualifying match between Argentina and Chile was suddenly stopped. This was not because of a brawl or something violent, but because of a dog that wandered into the court while holding a basketball.

The incident happened during the middle of the first quarter, right after Chilean player Felipe Haase scored to hand Chile a 7-6 lead in the game. However, as Argentina's Leandro Bolmaro had just inbounded the ball, a pooch came out of nowhere and ran to center court.

Referees quickly paused the game as players, coaches, officials, and the audience stared in disbelief at the dog running around with a deflated ball in its mouth. Needless to say, the incident went viral as the dog managed to evade officials trying to catch it.

Officials managed to remove the canine, but it soon came back running into the court, to the amusement of players and fans alike. The dog even received massive cheers from the crowd in Chile, with FIBA even posting videos of the dog's arrival on its various social media accounts.

This incident happened during the qualifier for the FIBA AmeriCup, which in itself is a once-every-4-year qualifying tournament for the Olympics. In other words, the incident happened not during a small-time tournament, but in one of the biggest basketball tournaments in the Americas and considered the basketball equivalent of soccer's Copa America.

Host country Chile made history in that game, beating Argentina for the very first time in its history, 79-77. Manuel Suarez led Chile to upset the defending AmeriCup champions, which now have a 1-1 record in Group A.

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Cuba Dominates Team USA in FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers

The United States is ranked #1 in the world for Basketball. However, for the FIBA AmeriCup, Team USA did not send its best as they were busy with the current NBA season. As the team visited Cuba for the qualifiers, the team got demolished, 81-67.

According to FIBA, Cuba held Team USA to just 10 points in the first quarter and pulled away with a 16-point win against the world #1. RaiQuan Gray led Team USA with 8 points, but his effort was not enough, with Cuba's all-around game dominating much of the match. The US previously won the match-up between these two countries.

Mexico Survives FIBA AmeriCup Match With Dominican Republic

Speaking of countries without their star players, the Dominican Republic was without superstar Karl Anthony Towns when the team faced off against Mexico in Arena CDX. However, the Dominicans still tried to rally in this closely-fought match but ended up losing to the Mexicans who had home-court advantage in Mexico City.

The final tally was 80-73 as both teams tried to scramble to qualify for the FIBA AmeriCup in 2025. Mexico had a hot start in the game and led as many as 19. However, the Dominicans slowly chipped away at that lead and even tied it at 1:13 left in regulation. The game ended in overtime but the Mexicans managed to pull away.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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