The Leones de Santo Domingo advanced to the final by winning 105-94 against the Titanes del Distrito Nacional in a match of the semifinal series B of the National Basketball League (LNB) held this Wednesday at the Sports Center of this city.
The “Melenudos”, who won the series 3-1, will face the Indios de San Francisco de Macorís in the final, who eliminated the Soles de Santo Domingo Este 3-1 in the semifinal phase A.
The final series, agreed to the best of seven games, will begin this Friday, at 8:00 p.m., with the visit of the Lions to San Francisco de Macorís to face the Indians.
The Lions sentenced the match in the third quarter when they completed a 12-0 run that put the scoreboard 57-48 in the first two minutes and 48 seconds, an advantage that they extended to 15 points.
The “Reds”, who will defend the title of champions, had the absence of Kelechi Ajukwa and Manuel Fortuna after being sent off in Monday’s game, and the star player Juan Guerrero had to leave the match in the second half due to two technical fouls.
In the fourth period, the Titans knocked on the door with a 4-0 run that cut the deficit to three points, but then came a triple by Marquis Wrights and two by Eddy Polanco that put things in order for the Lions.
Marquis Wrights, with 25 points, six rebounds and four assists, led the attack of the Lions, who also had the contribution of Eulis Báez, with 15 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, Eddy Polanco stood out with 19, Juan Guerrero scored 11 , Leo Cabrera chipped in 14 and Jayson Valdez finished with 10 points and six assists.
For the Titans, Jordan Williams scored 29, Richard Bautista had 18, Jassel Pérez, with 21, and Keith Jordan had 15 points.
In the first half, Jordan Williams, with 22 points, and Keith Jordan, with 13, led the Titans’ attack. Both scored 35 of the 48 points for the team, which went into the break with a three-point lead (48-45).
The “Blues”, after winning the first period 29-25, could not maintain a 10-point lead that they managed to score both in the first half and in the second.
Both teams remained active defensively. The Titans shot 35 percent from the field (15 of 36) against 50 percent (18 of 36) for the Lions, who dominated the points in the paint 20-16 and scored 13 units before the nine losses of the locals.
