The Cañeros del Este kept alive their hopes of overcoming the regular series by defeating the Leones de Santo Domingo 118-110 in a vibrant game of the National Basketball League (LNB) held this Tuesday at the Leo Tavarez Sports Center here.
The Cañeros (5-8) had the great contribution of the bench, which scored 68 points against 28 from the Longhairs, and also dominated the paint 52-36 and the rebounds 45-43.
Yeison Colomé led the attack with 23 points, four rebounds and six assists for the Cañeros, who shot 48 percent from the field. Jhonatan Araujo finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Jeromy Rodríguez contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, as well as Yhomar Rojas, with 15, and Raymer Santa, with 20.
The Leones (7-6), who shot 50 percent from the field, had 27 points and 17 rebounds with five assists from Juan Guerrero, while Eddy Polanco scored 27 points; Kelechi Ajukwa added 13 and Jayson Valdez finished with 14 points and five assists.
“It was a good victory and we hope to continue working to maintain the streak. We are taking advantage of every moment to get the job done,” said Raymer Santana after the game.
The quarters ended 18-30, 34-25, 30-25 and 36-30 in favor of the Cañeros, who also depend on other results to qualify for the next phase.
The Eastern team won the particular series on points difference after losing the first game 85-88 against the Reds.
After losing the first quarter by 12 points (18-30), the Cañeros planted a hermetic individual defense, while the baskets began to fall in the second period that led them to reduce the advantage to three points (52-55) by finish the first half.
The second half was won by the Cañeros team with a score of 34-25 with a great job from the bench, which contributed 33 points of the 52 that the team scored against 18 from the visitors.