Mexico vs Puerto Rico for Centrobasket U17 title, can Costa Rica upset Dominicans for FIBA U18 Americas spot?
Mexico vs Puerto Rico for Centrobasket U17 title, can Costa Rica upset Dominicans for FIBA U18 Americas spot?
Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic provided some major drama in the Semi-Finals but Puerto Rico prevailed and will face hosts Mexico in the FIBA Centrobasket U17 Championship 2021 Final.
Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic provided some major drama in the Semi-Finals but Puerto Rico prevailed and will face off against hosts and reigning champions Mexico in the FIBA Centrobasket U17 Championship 2021 Final, while Costa Rica and Dominican Republic will square off for third spot at FIBA U18 Americas Championship 2022.
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Puerto Rico 81-80 Dominican Republic
Puerto Rico nearly wasted a 12-point lead with less than 3 minutes to play but held on to reach the FIBA Centrobasket U17 Championship 2021 Final with an 81-80 victory over Dominican Republic. The four-time champions Puerto Rico built a 12-point lead midway through the second quarter but DR came back and the entire third quarter was tight. Puerto Rico led by 12 points once again with 2:43 minutes to play on Edir Ortiz’s three-pointer.
Dominican Republic fought back one more time with 11 points within 2 minutes to close within 79-78 with 55 seconds remaining. Puerto Rico’s Edir Ortiz missed a layup but he grabbed his own rebound, missed the putback but again grabbed the offensive rebound and did score the third time with 33 seconds left. Dominican star Edwin Daniel answered right back 4 seconds later and the Dominicans managed to force a jumpball with 15 seconds left to get the ball back. Luis Diaz could not get his shot to fall though and then another jumpball was called on the rebound giving Puerto Rico the ball with 2.6 seconds on the clock. The Dominicans could not get the ball back and Puerto Rico hung on for the win.
Alejandro Aviles poured in 25 points with 17 rebounds and 6 steals while Yaniel Rivera had 20 points and both Edir Ortiz and Alejandro Santos scored 11 points in the win. At the other end, Daniel was masterful with 28 points, 17 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks while Nasir Muhammad had 26 points and 5 assists. But that duo didn’t get enough help as no other Dominican player scored more than 6 points.
Mexico 114-54 Costa Rica
Hosts Mexico had no problem with Costa Rica in cruising to a 114-54 victory to book their spot in the FIBA Centrobasket U17 Championship Final. The reigning champs took the first quarter 30-18 and then allowed just nine points in the second quarter to set up a meeting with Puerto Rico - which will be a repeat of the 2019 title bout. Aram Soqui came off the Mexico bench to score 26 points with 7 three-pointers while Santiago Camacho had 23 points, Victor Valdes collected 12 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists and 5 steals and Ryan Martinez chipped in 8 points and 10 assists. Julian Quiros paced Costa Rica with 20 points and Andres Mora scored 12 points.
Jamaica 81-59 Aruba
Jamaica will play for fifth place after rolling past Aruba 81-59 in the Classification 5-8. The game was actually tied after 10 minutes but Jamaica went on a 15-2 run to start the second quarter and end any doubts. London Johnson scored 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting and 9-of-11 free throws - after scoring 117 points in the first three games - to go with 9 rebounds for the winners. And 2007-born Marcus McDonald poured in 28 points while Odaine Clahar had 4 points and 18 rebounds. Jean Salomond collected 19 points and 18 rebounds for Aruba and Kyrian Brooks scored 16 points in the loss.
Panama 94-60 El Salvador
Panama moved into the game for fifth place with a convincing 94-60 win over El Salvador in the Classification 5-8. Panama pulled away in the second quarter and never gave El Salvador a chance the rest of the game. Daniels Machore scored 15 points and Humberto Kentish collected 12 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the win. El Salvador were paced by Jaime Gonzalez with 13 points.
Can Mexico repeat or does Puerto Rico get title number five? Can Costa Rica surprise Dominicans?
The final day of action should be exciting as first we wait to see if Aruba can get their first victory in taking on El Salvador. Then we will see how many points London Johnson can score for Jamaica against Panama in the fifth place game. Dominican Republic meanwhile will be looking to exorcise some demons in the third place game against Costa Rica. In 2019, the Dominicans slipped up in this game in losing to Bahamas and failing to qualify for the FIBA U18 Americas Championship. And then we will see if Mexico can repeat their title or if Puerto Rico can grab crown number 5 after 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2015.
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