Despite coming close to pulling off a minor miracle at the Polideportivo 1 of the Parque Deportivo Estadio Nacional, hosts Chile will not make it to the semi-finals. 'La Roja' was making only its second appearance in the history of the Panam Games, having finished fifth in the inaugural edition in Buenos Aires in 1951. They were the underdogs in a group that included historically strong teams such as Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.

Chile had already put in a strong performance against Puerto Rico in its debut game (66-70). Wednesday's 94-43 rout of the Brazilians, which included an astonishing 53-15 halftime lead, was a different story. Far from giving up, Juan Manuel Córdoba's 's side came from behind to beat Mexico 63-59 on Thursday, led by a 16-point performance from Nicolás Carvacho (MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland). They came close to achieving a seemingly impossible qualification.

The win created a three-way tie at the top of the group and ultimately sent Mexico through, as the hosts needed to win by more than seven points to secure second place. With 2:18 to play, they led by eight (62-54). In the end, they fell just short, with José Israel Gutiérrez (Halcones Xalapa, Mexico) playing a key role with 19 points.

Brazil finished top of Group B with a perfect record. Lucas Diaz (Sesi Franca, Brazil) and Danilo Fuzaro (Bauru, Brazil) scored 17 and 15 points respectively, while Brandon Boyd (Cimarrones del Choco, Colombia) added 15 points in a 72-69 win over Puerto Rico on Thursday.

In Group A, defending champions Argentina once again battled to keep their unbeaten record intact for a third straight day with a thrilling 82-81 overtime win over the Dominican Republic, eking out a thrilling 82-81 overtime win over the Dominican Republic. It came after Santiago Scala missed a shot with three seconds left in regulation (74-74).

Trailing 82-81 after a basket by Gelvis Solano, Martín Cuello missed a shot with nine seconds left, and the Albiceleste grabbed the offensive rebound to end the islanders' hopes. Javier Alejandro Saiz, a power forward from Instituto in his home country, starred for Argentina with 19 points and four rebounds. New York-based Solano scored 30 points for the Dominicans, hitting 4-of-8 from three-point range, but it wasn't enough.

That defeat knocked the Dominicans out of the medal race, with 'Vinotinto' finishing second, and they secured a 68-77 win over Panama on Thursday, led by 18 points from world-class shooting guard Garly Sojo (Broncos, Venezuelan Superleague), despite his 3-of-10 performance from beyond the arc.

With no rest day, the semi-finals will take place on Friday with the following fixtures and times: Argentina versus Mexico (17:30 local time) and Brazil versus Venezuela (20:00 Chilean time).