By Raul Colon
Puerto Rico will play Jamaica for the gold medal tomorrow night thanks to its 78-63 win over Mexico in the semifinals of the in the 2010 FIBA Centrobasketball Champions being played at the renovated Sport Palace in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
The boricuas utilized a 25-12 second quarter to take command of the game. From that point on, the game was on cruise control with the Mexicans unable to mount a serious run in the second half.
Jazmine Sepulveda once again led the boricuas attack scoring 13 points and 4 assists. Carla Escalera shined this hot Tuesday evening. The athletic forward netted 11 points to go along with her 12 rebounds. Sandra Garcia added 10, including 4-7 from three point range. Michelle Pacheco chipped in with 11. Alexis Castro had a double-double, 19 points and 12 boards, for the Aztecs.
Mexico started the action with a 10-2 run to take control of the game in the first period. But Escalera sank a mid range jumper 1:01 into the second stanza that sparked an 11-1 rally. Puerto Rico went into halftime sporting a seven point (42-35) lead.
The Puertorricans did not let up in the third. Sepulveda’s five points in the first 3 minutes of the period pushed the home team lead to double (12) figures.
Puerto Rico connected 44% (28-64) from the field. Mexico managed to sank only 37 (22-59) percent of their shoots. The boricuas had also the advantage on three point percentages (33-24), steals (6-3) and rebounds (38-32).
