Mexicali (Mexico), Oct 19 (EFE).- Venezuelan Heissler Guillent scored 21 points to lead El Calor de Cancún‘s 82-79 victory this Saturday over Plateros de Fresnillo, with which the team led by Argentine José Pidal took a 1-0 lead in the playoff series of the Mexican basketball league.
Guillent, the best attacker of his quintet, also contributed three rebounds and five assists in his team’s victory.
Argentine Martín Fernández, with 10 points, four of them by converting the two triples he attempted, and a 56 percent accuracy rate on field goals led Cancún to reach the break 46-35 up.
The last two quarters belonged to Guillent, who scored 16 of his 21 points to anchor Cancún’s outside attack, which took advantage of Fresnillo’s poor record to convert five more triples and seal the 82-79 victory.
In another game this Saturday, the Soles de Mexicali, led by Argentine Esteban Gatti, beat the Halcones Rojos de Veracruz 104-79, to take a 1-0 lead in their playoff series in the Mexican basketball league.
American Kenneth Faried was Mexicali’s best player, with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Faried, winner of the 2014 World Cup with the United States, assumed command of his team’s attack in the first half, in which he scored 12 points and was his team’s main bet to dominate the paint, a strategy that left those of Gatti ahead 46-34 at halftime.
The Halcones tried to get into the game in the third period, by neutralizing Faried, however in the final 10 minutes Mexicali had an explosion of 43 points, 11 of them in a row without response from their rivals, to seal the 104-79 victory .
Also, the Aguascalientes Panthers beat the Freseros de Irapuato 100-77, to go 1-0 in the series.
This match started one hour and 44 hours later than expected because the Freseros came out late to the court, with a squad of nine players, with two absent, and about to lose the duel by forfeit.
Neither the league nor Irapauato have given their version of why they were late in taking the field and once there, they delayed starting the game.
This Sunday they will continue this series with their second matches and the one between the Dorados de Chihuahua and the Santos del Potosí will begin.
The series, which will define the rivals in the quarterfinals of the champion Fuerza Regia, the Astros de Jalisco, the Diablos Rojos del México and the Halcones de Xalapa, the four best in the regular phase, will end when one of the two teams win twice.EFE
