Boca Juniors Crush Tigers in Intercontinental Cup Dominance
Boca Juniors saw off Tigers 93-62 in the Intercontinental Cup on Saturday evening, a result that tells you everything about the gap between these two sides. To be fair, the scoreline might have been even more comfortable if the hosts had been sharper from distance. The visitors came in with decent recent form against Shanghai, but this was a different matter entirely.
And here's the thing — you don't need to watch every minute to see this one was over early. Boca shot 47.5 per cent from the field compared to Tigers' 28.2, and by then the game had settled into something predictable. The visitors managed only 22 successful field goals from 78 attempts, which is hardly the kind of efficiency that wins games at this level.
The rebounding told its own story, really. Boca pulled down 53 boards to Tigers' 27, and that kind of dominance on the glass meant the visitors never truly got into any rhythm. Tigers did manage more three-point attempts — 47 to Boca's 26 — but only converted 14 of them, which hardly makes up for the rest of the deficiencies.
What's interesting is the assist numbers: 27 for the hosts versus 12 for the visitors. That's not just about ball movement, it's about structure. Tigers had more steals with 8 to 4, but you have to make something of those turnovers, and they didn't really do that when it mattered.
Looking at Tigers' recent record, this loss extends a worrying run. They'd lost 95-114 to G League United just the day before, and before that managed only a narrow 117-115 win over Shanghai. Against a team like Boca, who'd beaten Beijing Royals 88-78 in their previous outing, there wasn't much hope.
Boca's own form had been inconsistent — losses to Lietuvos Rytas and G League United — but this performance suggests they've found something. The 31-point margin is significant, and it puts them in a strong position for whatever comes next in this competition.
One thing's for certain: Tigers will need to address their shooting efficiency and rebounding if they're to compete at this level. The goal difference of 31 points after one game is enough to raise questions about whether they belong here.
