Wins for Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic and Mexico on opening day

SAN JUAN (Puerto Rico) - The U17 National Teams of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, and Mexico celebrated wins on the first day of the Centrobasket U17 Championship 2019.

 
The host opened the regional championship with a hard-fought 75-70 win over the Bahamas, in Group A action.

A three-pointer from Omar Figueroa with 3:40 left, gave the hosts a 70-60 advantage, which allowed the Boricuas to withstand the onslaught of the Bahamians, who reduced the difference to five points.

However, the Puerto Ricans showed greater passages in the closing moments of the game to secure their first victory.

Rafael Pinzón, with 16 points and Ramses Meléndez, with 12, were the best for the Puerto Ricans. Deyton Albury, with 20 points, stood out for the Bahamas.

For its part, the Virgin Islands defeated El Salvador, 90-62, in Group A action.

The Caribbean team controlled the rebounds (70-39), dominated the painted area (52 points) and scored 28 in second chances, against an opponent that gave a valiant fight during the opening moments of the game.

Jahsean Corbett, with 25 points and 11 rebounds, led the Virgin Islands. For El Salvador, José Reyes and Bryan Romero, got 14 and 13 points, respectively.

In Group B action, the defending champions defeated Panama, 95-74.

The Dominicans’ defense pressure paid off early and led to easy baskets in transition. The Dominican Republic took a solid advantage of 54-37, which they maintained for the victory.

Jean Montero, one of the elite prospects of the region and FIBA U16 Americas Championship All-Star team member, led the Dominican offensive with 31 points (12-12 in free throws) and six assists.

Guillermo Navarro with 22 points (five three-pointers), Isaac Hall with 19 points and seven assists, and Aldamir Castillo with 16 units and 14 rebounds left a pleasant impression for Panama.

Mexico did not give any type of option to Jamaica and won 100-38, in the other Group B game of the first day.

The Mexican squad sentenced the game during the first half, after taking a 59-18 advantage during the first 20 minutes of the game. Mexico was widely superior in all the lines of the stats.

Esteban Roacho led the scoring with 15 points. Iván Bernal and Álex García followed with 12 points each. For Jamaica, Joshua Minott stood out with 15 units and 11 rebounds.

This Thursday, on the second day of the Group Phase, Jamaica will face Panama, the Dominican Republic will take on Mexico, El Salvador will clash with the Bahamas and Puerto Rico will play against the Virgin Islands.

FIBA