Puerto Rico wins gold in Centrobasket, Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, El Salvador qualify to AmeriCup 2021

SAN SALVADOR (El Salvador) - Centrobasket action finished on Sunday evening with 4 teams qualifying for the AmeriCup taking place in June 2021. With teams fighting for the podium spots until the end of day 5 of action, the tournament showcased talent of all ages in Central America that will take on the rest of the Americas in June.

Puerto Rico rolled to first place, solidifying their place in the AmeriCup halfway through the tournament thanks to their undefeated run during the action. Veteran point guard and tournament MVP Pamela Rosado helped her team in the feat, averaging 13.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6 assists per game.

Virgin Islands finished in second securing a silver medal, with dynamic duo Anisha George and Imani Tate being the top two scorers of the tournament – George scored 80 points over the 4 games while Tate scored 65. Virgin Islands lost only one game in the tournament, losing to top contenders Puerto Rico by 4 points in their first game.

Dominican Republic won bronze in the tournament, only losing games to Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, and came out of a close matchup against Costa Rica thanks to a combined 37 points and 12 rebounds from Elemy Colome and Yohanna Morton.

El Salvador, the home team, qualified for the AmeriCup in June with their fourth-place finish, with their win over Costa Rica helping them grab the fourth spot after the podium. 19-year-old Kimberly Villalobos averaged a double-double in the tournament, with an average of 11 points and 11.3 rebounds, and only failed to record a double-double just one time in the action.

Costa Rica, despite many close games, was unable to get a win out of the tournament with such close competition, but Silvia Betancourt Flores and Natalia Galvez each averaged 11 points per game in Centrobasket action.

The tournament also honoured an All-Star 5, which was comprised of Anisha George, Imani Tate, Jada Stinson, Pamela Rosado and Elemy Colome. While George, Tate and Colome led the tournament in scoring, with Virgin Islands’ duo also leading in rebounds, Stinson, teammate of Rosado, also was in the top five of scoring, shooting percentage, and 3-pointers. Rosado was in the top 10 of multiple categories, including assists, trailing only Tate.

FIBA