Mexico and Puerto Rico to play for Centrobasket U17 Women's Championship Gold

SAN JUAN (Puerto Rico) - Puerto Rico and Mexico advanced to the Final of the Centrobasket U17 Women’s Championship 2019, after earning victories over the Dominican Republic and Guatemala in the Semi-Finals of the regional championship.

 
With their Semi-Final victories, Puerto Rico and Mexico earned spots at the FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship 2020.

In an exhilarating game, Puerto Rico defeated the Dominican Republic, 60-59, after being down on the scoreboard for much of the game.

 
Puerto Rico found a rival’s defense that did not allow the team to make its usual offensive game of quick transitions, which generated anxiety in the team and led to forced shots, but on the closing moments of the game, Puerto Rico showed greater skill and secured the victory.

A free throw by Nangely Garcia, with 1:04 minutes left, gave Puerto Rico the winning advantage. In the final minute, neither team managed to score, and the home team celebrated the win.

Garcia led the Puerto Rican offense with 17 points and 12 rebounds. De León added 15 points and eight assists. Baéz led the Dominican Republic with 22 points.

For its part, Mexico defeated Guatemala, 53-44, in an even duel that was decided in the final minutes.

 
Mexico took advantage of Guatemala’s slow start and escaped to an early lead. Guatemala came back into the game and went to the top of the scoreboard, but in the last ten minutes of the game, the Mexicans dominated and took the win.

The key for the Mexicans was controlling the rebounds (55-39) and not allowing many second chances.

Again, power forward Mariana Valenzuela was decisive for the Mexicans with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Irais Aguilera followed with 11 points and nine boards. For Guatemala, Natalie Larrañaga excelled with 17 points and 18 rebounds.

Tomorrow on the last day of the regional championship, Puerto Rico will face Mexico in the Centrobasket U17 Women’s Championship 2019. Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala will play for the Bronze medal and the last available ticket to the FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship 2020.

In the reclassification round, Bahamas defeated Barbados, 83-41, with 17 points and 10 rebounds from Rhema Collins. Costa Rica did the same against El Salvador, 53-37, thanks to the good performance of Ariana Mora, who finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

As a result, on the last day of the Centrobasket U17 Women’s Championship 2019, Bahamas will face Costa Rica for fifth place, while Barbados and El Salvador will play for seventh place.

FIBA