Jamaica slump to defeat

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CMC):

Trinidad & Tobago enhanced their chances of reaching the semi-finals of the Centrobasket Championship when they prevailed over Puerto Rico 97-91 in overtime on Tuesday at the Virgil Soto Sports Centre.

It was T&T's first victory ever over Puerto Rico, and was a marked improvement from their previous international when the English-speaking Caribbean side slumped to a 67-93 defeat.

Second straight defeat

Meanwhile, Jamaica, another of the English-speaking Caribbean sides in the Championship, slumped to their second straight defeat when the depth of the Dominican Republic paid dividends once again in a 68-62 victory.

Roy Hibbert finished with 19 points for Jamaica and Garfield Blair added 15.

The key for the win by Trinidad & Tobago was their dominance on the boards, grabbing 46 rebounds against 32 from the Puerto Ricans.

They also took advantage of the second chance points and points off turnovers, especially in the second half.

T&T trailed 22-25 after the first quarter, but they appeared to lose their way when the Puerto Ricans opened a half-time lead of 50-36.

In the third period, T&T started to pressure the ball, and took advantage of the second chance buckets, as well as fast-break opportunities to cut the lead to 63-73 to gain some momentum entering the final stanza.

Steven Lewis led T&T with 24 points and Kibwe Trim netted 18.

Puerto Rico's Carlos Arroyo led the way with 24 points and nine assists, while Peter John Ramos and Renaldo Balkman scored 17 each.

The British Virgin Islands suffered a setback when Panama's depth and their defence carried them to a 75-61 victory. Kennedy Bass and Halstead Chiverton kept BVI close with 20 points between them.