The senior women’s basketball team achieved its second classification in history to the FIBA AmeriCup after eliminating Cuba, with a comeback included. This Friday he plays semis
The senior women’s team baloncesto achieved the epic this Thursday in Irapuato, Mexico by defeating the team of Cubaqualify for the semifinals of Centrobasket 2024 and reach the FIBA AmeriCup for the second time in history, which will take place next year in Santiago, Chile.
The team led by Ray Santana reached the definition of second place in group A with a defeat against the leader Puerto Rico and the victory the previous day against Costa Rica, the same scenario as the Caribbean team.
The match began with a Cuban team quickly imposing itself on the court, winning second-chance points and demonstrating physical strength against the national team, something that led to a score of 14-29 against at the end of the first ten minutes of the match.
However, in the second quarter the gaps began to close for the Salvadoran squad, driven once again by Hillary Martínez, the quintet’s historical reference, now accompanied by the nationalized North American Destiny Campbell, to win the quarter 20-12 and leave the score was 34-41 at halftime.
With two sectors of the game drawn with gaps of 6-0 and 5-0 thanks to the points of Martínez, Campbell and Fátima Avilés, the Salvadoran team finished the third quarter reducing its distance to two points, with the score 53-55 and the sensations of a last period with pure vertigo, which ended up being true.
Somersault
With seven minutes left there was a train of points that began with an effective triple by Emily Tevez and another double by Martínez, but Cuba began to miss points from all positions, which opened the door and Campbell scored two points with 3 :25 to play and then, Yamara Amargo fouled Hillary, so that the one who plays in the Mexican professional league with 2:58 gave the national team the advantage for the first time (62-61).
From that moment on, the distance only increased for the Salvadorans, who did their best to stretch the clock and cause failures in the Caribbean squad that saw its qualification for the tournament that it had won four times slip away. and whose last absence was precisely when El Salvador qualified in the Centrobasket held in the country during 2021.
Six more points from Hillary and two from Destiny were enough despite a triple converted by Amargo with one second remaining to leave the score at 70-67 for the Salvadorans, who were founded in a unique hug on the Inforum court in Irapuato . A historic classification and tonight they will play the semifinals, presumably, against the locals, Mexico.
In the statistics, Hillary Martínez stood out with 24 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, followed by Destiny Campbell with 22 points and 8 rebounds, as well as Emily Tevez, with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. In Cuba, María Montero stood out with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
The elimination of Cuba from the path to the FIBA AmeriCup is a fact rarely seen in the region, since 16 Centrobasket titles stand out to its credit, the last being in 2014, followed by a silver in 2018 and a bronze in 2022. While El Salvador will therefore seek to improve its best position in history, which is fourth place, achieved at home during the 2021 edition of the tournament, played in a round-robin format.
RETURN TO COVER
