Dominican Republic pulls away late in victory over Mexico

SANTO DOMINGO (Dominican Republic) – The home crowd at Palacio de los Deportes had to endure a rollercoaster featuring 18 lead changes but ended up celebrating as Dominican Republic pulled away late, defeating Mexico 84-70 in the first day of Group C of the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers.

Mexico led during most of the first half and benefitted from a mountain of missed free throws by the Caribbeans, but their defense couldn’t put the game away, leading the door open for the fourth quarter comeback that eventually ensued.

 

Turning point: The home country tied the game at 56 at the end of the third quarter, erasing what had been a 9-point deficit early in the second period.

A quick bucket from Gabriel Girón put Mexico once again on top, but that would be the last time they were ahead, as the Dominican Republic uncorked a 9-0 to regain the lead and never looked back.

In the end, David Díaz’s squad won the fourth quarter by a score of 28-14 as big men Luis Santos and Eloy Vargas, having a quiet night until that point, scored a pair of buckets each to swing the momentum of the game.

Player of the Game: Jean Montero had a sensational second half, scoring 16 of his team-leading 19 points after intermission.

The combo guard shot 5/11 from the field, including 3/7 from beyond the arc and 6/8 the free throw line. He added 7 assists and a pair of steals.

His personal 6-0 run in the span of 38 seconds with 2:42 clinched the victory for the quisqueyanos.

D.R. also got great efforts from Angel Delgado (11 points and 9 rebounds), Andrés Feliz (13 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists), Víctor Liz (11 points on 2/3 from downtown) and Vargas (9 points and 11 boards).

Meanwhile, Girón was a one-man show for Mexico, finishing with a game-high 25 points.

 

He shot 9/15 from the field (5/8 from long distance) but had 6 turnovers and was held to just one bucket in the final stanza.

Fabián Jaimes (12 points and 4 steals) and Gael Bonilla (10 points and 2 blocks) were productive despite the losing effort.

 

Stats don’t lie: The size and edge eventually tipped the scales in favor of Dominican Republic, as they won the boards 40-26 and had a 15-6 edge in second chance points thanks to 13 offensive rebounds.

And while they struggled at the charity strip, they still ended up with twice as many made free throws (16) than their opponent (8).

The home team also shot a torrid 52.6 percent from the field, including an excellent 8/18 from beyond the arc. They also had 7 different players scoring at least 3 baskets, and their bench had a 21-9 advantage over Mexico’s reserves.

 

 

 

Bottom line: Dominican Republic got an important victory at home in what is clearly the hardest group (Group C) on paper in the competition. Earlier in the day, Canada defeated Nicaragua, 96-51, but outside of Nicaragua, any of the other 3 teams is talented enough to win the group.

Mexico will now seek revenge on Monday when they host Dominican Republic at Arena CDMX in Mexico City.

 

FIBA