Mexico's Gustavo Ayon and Argentina's Luis Scola. (Photo : Reuters)
The highly-anticipated elimination round matchup between gold medal favorites Argentina and defending champions and host nation Mexico is set on the last day of second round competitions in the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City.
The two teams are still undefeated in the current tournament with both carrying 6-0 win-loss cards through the first two rounds.
Mexico is set to face powerhouse squad Canada on Tuesday first before this Wednesday showdown with the Argentinians, and so there is a slight chance that they may suffer their first defeat against Jay Triano's NBA-laden team.
Meanwhile, Argentina will battle the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. Sergio Hernandez's men already beat Canada, 94-87, during their second game of the preliminary round.
The Mexicans are coming off a come-from-behind 73-70 win over surprise team Venezuela in their most recent game, as reported by the tournament's official website.
2013 MVP Gustavo Ayon remained solid with 14 points and 11 boards but starting point guard Jorge Gutierrez was the star of the night, providing the clutch baskets literally in the final seconds to keep his team unbeaten.
Gutierrez poured in four of his team-high 20 points in the last nine seconds of play to snatch the game away from the gutsy Venezuelans, who led 70-69 prior to the Mexican point guard's outburst.
Argentina beat lowly Panama on Monday, 84-57, behind Luis Scola's 16 points and four rebounds, via FIBA Live Stats.
The hosts are expected to encounter more trouble against Argentina, and if they don't succumb to the high-octane offense of Canada on Tuesday, they will be juiced out by the pressure defense of Scola and company in this game.
Prediction: Argentina wins, 77-75
Mexico starting five: Gustavo Ayon (C), Hector Hernandez (PF), Juan Toscano (SF), Orlando Mendez (SG), Jorge Gutierrez (PG)
Argentina starting five: Marcos Delía (C), Luis Scola (PF), Andrés Nocioni (SF), Nicolas Richotti (SG), Facundo Campazzo (PG)
