The Dominican Republic take a huge leap toward China
The Dominican Republic took a huge leap forward to the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China by defeating Venezuela, 72-67, at Palacio de los Deportes in Santo Domingo.
SANTO DOMINGO (FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Qualifiers) –The Dominican Republic took a huge leap forward to the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China by defeating Venezuela, 72-67, at Palacio de los Deportes in Santo Domingo.
Santo Domingo, República Dominicana. 🏠🏀🇩🇴📸🔥 #EstaEsMiCasa #ThisIsMyHouse pic.twitter.com/uIfg0HZGe9
— Basketball World Cup (@FIBAWC) February 22, 2019
Point guard Ronald Ramón gave his team the definitive advantage by achieving a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left on the clock to stop the Venezuelans' onslaught, who closed in to a mere difference of three points (70-67) thanks to a three-point shot by José Vargas when there were 13.8 seconds left to play.
Power forward Juan García led the locals’ attack with 16 points coming in from the bench, while Eloy Vargas and Sadiel Rojas contributed, respectively, 13 and 10 units. For the South Americans, point guard Gregory Vargas was explosive with 26 points, eight rebounds and four assists. His brother, José, added 12.
The Dominicans achieved a very important win in a complicated game. They could only score 14 of 30 free throws (47%) and two of 10 three-point shot attempts and suffered 16 losses. However, they were constantly attacking the rim and scored 44 points from the paint.
The two three-pointers by the Dominican Republic were produced in the last period by point guard Rigoberto Mendoza, and both were in consecutive possessions, giving his side a key advantage, 60-53, with 4:05 minutes on the clock. Venezuela had taken the lead, 52-53, with two free throws by Miguel Ruiz, but the two sequences by Mendoza woke up the local fans, who cheered on their team.
Dominican Republic now hold a 7-4 record in Group F of the Americas Qualifiers and now must wait for the results of Puerto Rico and Uruguay in Group E. The Dominicans’ next encounter will be against Brazil, on Monday, at the same stage. With a triumph in that game, they would secure a direct ticket to China.
Venezuela, with a 9-2 mark and with the spot in China already in hand, will close the Qualifiers on Sunday when they visit Canada. The winners of that match would then be the leaders of Group F.
FIBA