Puerto Rico rally from 19 down, take Centrobasket U17 gold over Mexico; Dominicans win bronze
Puerto Rico rally from 19 down, take Centrobasket U17 gold over Mexico; Dominicans win bronze
Puerto Rico rallied from 19 points down to win the FIBA Centrobasket U17 Championship 2021 gold over Mexico; Dominicans win bronze; Puerto Rico's Edir Oritz crowned MVP
Puerto Rico are back atop the FIBA Centrobasket region as they rallied back from 19 points down to defeat hosts and reigning champions Mexico 81-79 in overtime to win the FIBA Centrobasket U17 Championship 2021. Dominican Republic claimed the bronze medal and Puerto Rico’s Edir Ortiz took home the Most Valuable Player award.
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Puerto Rico 81-79 OT Mexico
Puerto Rico broke the hearts of hosts Mexico by rallying from 19 points down to clinch the FIBA Centrobasket U17 Championship 2021 with an 81-79 victory in overtime. Puerto Rico absolutely shut down the Mexican offense, allowing just one basket in the final 9:05 minutes of regulation and overtime for the comeback win. Most Valuable Player Edir Oritz scored 28 points and had 10 steals as Puerto Rico took the Centrobasket U17 crown for the fifth time following 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2015. They also exacted a bit of revenge on Mexico, who claimed their first Centrobasket U17 title in 2019 by beating Puerto Rico in Puerto Rico. The bronze medal - as well as the third spot at the FIBA U18 Americas Championship 2022 - went to Dominican Republic, who cruised past Costa Rica 102-54.
Mexico led 20-13 after 10 minutes and the gap was 42-33 at the break. Mexico pulled away in the third quarter and led 54-35 three minutes into the second half. Puerto Rico got the deficit down to nine points but trailed 69-53 after 30 minutes.
The Puerto Rican defense stepped up to start the fourth quarter, holding Mexico scoreless for the first 4 minutes and pulling within 69-61 until a Santiago Camacho three-pointer. The hosts continued to struggle to execute on offense but Camacho’s layup had them ahead 74-63 with 4:05 minutes left.
Puerto Rico held Mexico scoreless for the final 4 minutes of regulation and went on an 11-0 run with back-to-back three-pointers from Edir Oritz to knot the game 74-74 with 76 seconds left. Neither team scored the rest of the way to force overtime.
Camacho had two free throws to tie the game at 76-76 and then Edir Ortiz and Omar Sanchez scored to make it 80-76. Edir Ortiz and Alejandro Aviles both missed two free throws but Mexico could not take advantage of it, only getting a three-pointer from Camacho with 4.3 seconds to play to trim the gap to 80-79. Aviles split two free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining and Josue Ocampo’s desperation heave was not close to give Puerto Rico the crown.
Besides Edir Ortiz, Aviles finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds and Jose Ortiz scored 12 points for Puerto Rico. Camacho’s 35 points were not enough as only Ocampo scored in double figures otherwise for Mexico with 12 points. Victor Valdes was held to 5 points though he contributed 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals.
Puerto Rico’s Edir Oritz wins MVP
Puerto Rico’s Edir Ortiz was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament after guiding his team back in the Final. For the tournament, Ortiz averaged 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.6 steals and 0.8 blocks.
Also included on the All-Star 5 were the Mexican duo of Santiago Camacho and Victor Valdes, Edwin Daniel of Dominican Republic and Jamaica’s London Johnson. Camacho collected 22.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game while Valdes had 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 8.4 assists, 3.6 steals and 1.0 blocks. Daniel averaged 11.2 points, 14.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 3.0 blocks and Johnson poured in an amazing 36.0 points per game to go with 9.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 4.0 steals. Johnson also shot 56.1 percent from the field and 87.5 percent from the free throw line (check them out for yourself below)
Dominican Republic 102-54 Costa Rica
The Dominican Republic collected the bronze medal for the tournament - as well as the third spot at the FIBA U18 Americas Championship 2022 - by rolling past Costa Rica 102-54. The win exorcised some demons after Dominican Republic had lost to Bahamas in the third place game in 2019 and failed to qualify for the FIBA U18 Americas Championship 2020, which would eventually be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Dominicans put the game to bed with a 26-16 second quarter and then allowed just nine points in the third quarter. Yeison Liberato led the way for the Dominicans with 19 points, Jose Jimenez scored 15 points, Leonel Nunez had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Edwin Daniel chipped in 9 points and 11 rebounds. Saul Rodriguez was Costa Rica’s leading scorer with 19 points.
Panama 82-76 Jamaica
Panama claimed fifth place at the FIBA Centrobasket U17 Championship 2021 by knocking off Jamaica 82-76. Panama built a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter and held on won for the win as Humberto Kentish collected 16 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. Fernando Gonzalez added 14 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. London Johnson stood out once again for Jamaica with 34 points on 9-of-21 shots and 14-of-15 free throws to go with 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 1 block - though he did commit 11 turnovers. The 2007-born Marcus McDonald added 13 points.
El Salvador 73-59 Aruba
El Salvador finished seventh at the FIBA Centrobasket U17 Championship 2021 with a 73-59 win over Aruba. El Salvador led by 12 points after 10 minutes and never really were threatened the rest of the way. Juan Ibarra collected 24 points and 12 rebounds, Kaeden Sibrian had 16 points and Jose Figueroa tallied 11 points, 20 rebounds and 4 steals for the winners. Shandirow Schmidt scored 18 points with 8 rebounds and Jean Salomond picked up 16 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals in the loss.
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