The Cuban team went from less to more this Sunday to defeat the Dominican Republic 73-59 and get, for the first time in its history, the bronze medal of the women’s Centrobasket in Chihuahua, Mexico, where they were crowned Puerto Rico.
Márgaro Pedroso’s students were able to recover from an uncertain first set, when they closed with a nine-goal disadvantage (14-23) according to the specialized site Hitwhose report adds that in the second period they responded 25-9 and led 39-32 at halftime.
?? @Arella_Karinnnthe MVP of a Women’s Centrobasket ⛹?♀️ with a luxury Ideal Quintet ?
?? Yamara Bitter
?? Gladys Avila
?? Yohanna Morton
?? Isalys Quinones #Centrobasket? https://t.co/n3JCYhGMfg pic.twitter.com/CHifYUCoQv
— FIBA in Spanish (@FIBA_es) November 28, 2022
An even third quarter (12-13) and a disproportionate conclusive one (22-14) gave the Cubans a comfortable margin of advantage (14 units) to deserve a place on the podium.
Individually, Suanly Tanis stood out, with an efficiency of +30, after scoring 25 points, grabbing six rebounds, providing three assists and stealing the same number of balls. Elianis Armenteros was about to achieve an incredible triple-double, since he only lacked double digits in points (8), since he had 10 rebounds and 10 assists, the outlet points out.
Collectively, Cuba fared better than its rivals, impressively shooting 50% from long range and 80% from the free throw line. Once again the barrier of 40 rebounds was exceeded, with 42 of the 76 balls played under the boards.
The experienced Cuban Yamara Amargo was included in the Ideal Team, together with the Puerto Rican Arella Guirante, the Dominican Yohanna Morton and the Mexican Gladys Ávila and Arella Guirantes, the latter selected as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament. Once again, Bitter made it clear her great level to lead her team to get the ticket to the AmeriCup 2023, underlines the FIBA site.
Cubans debut with defeat against Mexico in Centrobasket tournament
In the debut against Mexico, Amargo was the top scorer with 22 points and in the bronze medal match against the Dominican Republic she was the second best scorer with 15 points. In the tournament she had an average of 12.5 points (eighth in the general statistics), 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists.
Beyond the medal, precise Hithighlights the qualifications of Cuba for the Central Caribbean Games of San Salvador 2023 and the FIBA AmeriCup 2023, the latter qualifying for the Pan American Games of Santiago 2023.
