Richard Bautista, Jassel Pérez and Luis David Montero led the Titanes of the National District to a 106-102 victory over the Indios de San Francisco de Macorís, in the first game of Semifinal B of the LNB Super League.
Bautista scored 22 points, distributed 13 assists and stole 3 balls, while Pérez scored 24 points and gave 6 assists. Montero was not far behind and finished with 17 points, 9 boards and shot 4-for-6 from three shots. Keith Jordan Jr. added 17 points and 6 rebounds.
The Indians had the debut of Juan Miguel Suero, who was the top scorer with 34 points and shot 25-15 from the field. Luismal Ferreiras had a double-double of 27 points and 17 sacks, while Curtis Hollis left with 14 in scoring.
The match came tied 100-100 at the last minute of the fourth half. Ferreiras had a tap with 58 seconds left and the Indians led 102-100. That lead didn’t last long as Montero hit a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left to give the Titans a 103-102 lead.
Eleven seconds later, Bautista stole the ball from Ramón Galloway and the Titans kept rotating the ball, until Bautista himself found Pérez on the left side, who did not hesitate, shot and hit the three-pointer that sealed the game. The Indians, trailing by four, had 17 seconds left but couldn’t execute.
The Titans shot 53.9 percent from the field to the Indians’ 47.8. They dominated 28-24 assists, 64-34 counter-attack scoring and 28-13 points off the bench. The Francomacorisans dominated the rebounding battle 48-42 and the points in the paint 72-48.
Titanes and Indios will meet again this Thursday at 8:00 p.m. in the Mario Ortega pavilion in San Francisco de Macorís.
The first three partials
The Indians made a difference of 11 (22-11) with a shot by JD Miller with 5:16 remaining in the first quarter. However, with 1:19 left, the Titans took the lead 29-28 after a three-pointer by Jordan Jr. The visitors scored the next four points to win the quarter 32-29.
Two free throws by Miller put the Indians within 42-35 with 6:02 left in the second quarter. In the rest of the quarter, the Titans were better. Montero’s third 3-pointer of the game put the hosts ahead 54-47 with 2:18 left. The first half scored 56-51.
Jordan Jr. had 12 points and 3 steals, Pérez had 12 points and Montero 11 with 6 rebounds to lead the Titans to halftime. Juan Miguel Suero scored 13 points and provided 3 assists for the Indians, who also had 12 points from Hollis and 11 and 6 sacks from Ferreiras.
In the third period, Hollis made two free throws and the Indians got within 2 (73-75) with 3:19. With Richard Bautista’s offense, the Titans regained command by scoring 13 of the next 21 points to finish leading 88-81 after three quarters.
The partials concluded 29-32, 27-19, 32-30 and 18-21 for the Titans.
Royals and Lions this Wednesday
Game number 2 of Semifinal A between the Reales de La Vega and the Leones de Santo Domingo will be played at 8:00 p.m. at the Palacio de los Deportes. The vegans won 120-112 in the first match held last Monday at Fernando Teruel.