Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico and Puerto Rico earn wins in first day of the Centrobasket U17 C’ship

AGUADA (FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship 2018) – The first day of the Centrobasket U17 Women’s championship handed wins to the National Teams from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Costa Rica defeated Bahamas 53-39 in the Centrobasket U17 Women’s Championship opener. The game started evenly, but in the second quarter the Costa Ricans took over the game with a 14-6 quarter. Costa Rica went on to win the second half and celebrated the win. Brenda Espinoza was the best for Costa Rica with 6 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and 6 blocks.

El Salvador rolled to a powerful and dominating 101-54 win over the British Virgin Islands to kick-off Group A action. From the get-go, the Salvadorians took control of the scoreboard and the rhythm of the game with a 25-10 first quarter. El Salvador went-on to win all the quarters handedly, to celebrate the win. Alexis Rodriguez was the best for El Salvador, with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals.

Mexico began its participation in the Centrobasket U17 Women’s Championship with a 100-32 win over Guatemala. Mexico dominated from the start, and held the opponent to just one point in the first ten minutes of the game. Nothing changed, Mexico kept adding to the lead, after winning all the quarters handedly. Sofia Payan was the top performer for the Mexicans with 24 points and 5 rebounds.

Puerto Rico debuted in the regional championship with a 103-34 win over Suriname. The Puerto Ricans dominated and escaped to a 36-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. All the players from the Puerto Rican side got points on the scoreboard as they rolled to a comfortable win. Puerto Rico won the rebounding battle 58-35, and was led offensively by five players scoring double digits.

On the second day of group-play, Guatemala will face the British Virgin Islands, Suriname will face Bahamas, El Salvador will take-on Mexico and Puerto Rico will face Costa Rica.

The top three teams from the Centrobasket U17 Women’s Championship will qualify to the FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship 2018.

FIBA