IRAPUATO (México) – El Salvador came from behind to defeat Cuba and secure second place in Group B of the FIBA Centrobasket Women's Championship 2024, earning a spot in the Semi-Finals. Additionally, they claimed the last ticket to the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2025. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic triumphed once again, finishing the Group Stage undefeated. The Salvadoran team completes the list of the 10 national teams that will compete in the 2025 continental tournament. The qualifiers from the South American Women's Championship are Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Chile (host), and those from Centrobasket are Puerto Rico, Mexico, Dominican Republic and El Salvador. The list is completed by the United States and Canada. El Salvador’s victory also determined the Centrobasket semifinalists who will face off this Saturday. The first match will be between Puerto Rico (1A) and Mexico (2B). In the other matchup, Dominican Republic (1B) will face El Salvador (2A). Here are the highlights from Thursday's action at the Inforum in Irapuato, Mexico:
Meléndez sparks Puerto Rico's victory
Puerto Rico (3-0), which had already secured first place in Group A, maintained its undefeated record by defeating Costa Rica (0-3) 69-33. The Puerto Ricans struggled to find their pace. In fact, during the first eight minutes of the second quarter, they failed to score and allowed their opponents to tie the game at 13, but Tayra Meléndez ignited the spark with seven consecutive points, breaking the scoring drought, and Puerto Rico went into halftime with a 25-15 lead, thanks to a long three-pointer at the buzzer by Geovana Rios.
After the break, the Caribbean team asserted their dominance to secure a comfortable win. Meléndez led the attack with 12 points and 5 rebounds in just 13 minutes on the court. Ríos (8 rebounds and 6 assists), Ahlana Smith, and India Pagán (8 boards) each added 8 points. Coach Jerry Batista gave Arella Guirantes, the team's leading scorer, a rest day. For Costa Rica, Karina Araya finished with 12 points, and Ariana Mora had 7 points and 8 rebounds.
Martínez rises at the end to lead Salvadoran comeback
El Salvador (2-1) played at a high level in the final moments and pulled off the biggest surprise of the tournament by defeating Cuba (1-2) 70-67 to earn a spot in the Semifinals and secure the last place in the FIBA Women's AmeriCup 2025. The Central American team will return to the continental tournament after competing in 2021. Hillary Martínez was key for El Salvador, scoring 10 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter and, for the third game in a row, nearly achieving a triple-double with 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Martínez guided her team’s comeback, which had been trailing 29-14 at the end of the first quarter. The point guard gave her team the lead for the first time (62-61) with two free throws with 2:58 left. Destiny Campbell then scored a basket, and Martínez extended the lead to 66-61 with another score, with just 1:19 left on the clock. The experienced guard sealed the win with four more free throws in the final 20 seconds, putting the score at 70-64 with just 5 seconds remaining.
After a difficult first quarter, El Salvador found their rhythm, chipping away at the deficit in the following periods (41-34 and 55-53). A solid zone defense frustrated the Cubans, who saw their shooting percentages drop as the game went on. Cuba finished with a shooting percentage of 29% (24-83) and made only 2 of 18 three-point attempts. Campbell also stood out for El Salvador with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Emily Tevez added 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. For Cuba, María Montero was the top scorer with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Nahomis Vargas (14 points and 15 rebounds) and Anisleidy Galindo (14 points and 12 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles.
Virgin Islands pick up first win
The Virgin Islands (1-2) dominated Guatemala (0-3) from start to finish, securing an 87-58 victory to take third place in Group B. Both teams entered the match already eliminated from the next round and will now compete in the classification round for positions 5 through 8.
Anisha George led the Virgin Islands with 18 points and 13 rebounds, followed by Taylor Dominique Jones, who scored 15 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, and J-Naya Ephraim (12 points). For Guatemala, Astrid García contributed 18 points and 8 assists, while Valeria Oliva added 16 points.
Capellán shines and takes over in the final quarter
The Dominican Republic (3-0) went on a 31-15 run in the final quarter, turning the score around to defeat Mexico (2-1) 78-67 and claim first place in Group B. Cesarina Capellán showcased her full skill set, scoring 17 of her 29 points (including 5 three-pointers) in the last quarter to tip the balance in favor of the Dominican team. The forward scored 8 consecutive points (two three-pointers and a two-pointer), putting the Dominican Republic up 68-59 with 3:02 left. The home team responded with a three-pointer from Anisa Jeffreis (68-62), but veteran Yohanna Morton restored calm for the Caribbean team with two baskets under the rim after offensive rebounds, widening the lead to double digits (72-62) with only 1:33 left to play.
Esmery Martínez also shone with 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Dominican squad, which entered the final 10 minutes trailing 52-47. Yenifer Jiménez added 13 points and 5 assists, and Morton contributed another 10 points with 9 rebounds. For the home team, Angela Rodríguez (17 points and 5 three-pointers) led the way, followed by Claudia Ramos (14 points and 6 rebounds) and Jeffreis (10 points).
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