SANTO DOMINGO.- Jalen Henry, Andersson García and Luis Feliz led an epic comeback for the Marineros de Puerto Plata, who achieved an 86-82 victory over the Metros de Santiago in an exciting National Basketball League (LNB) match, held at the Oscar Gobaira Arena. This victory raises the Mariners’ record to 8-8 in the season. With no more games pending in the regular season, the team awaits the definition of the standings to know their fate in the elimination phase.
Featured Performances
In his debut, Jalen Henry shined with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Andersson García contributed 19 points, 9 rebounds, 13 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Luis Feliz added 14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals for the Mariners, who handed the Metros (11-4) their first loss in Santiago (6-1). For the Metros, Troy Cracknell scored 20 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 5 assists, while Jordan Hall contributed 18 points and Brahiam Méndez 14.The Party’s Development
In the last quarter, Henry scored five consecutive points, followed by two from Feliz, which put the Mariners ahead 76-73 with 3:38 left. At that moment, the Puerto Plata team was dominating the partial 20-8, reversing a nine-point deficit with which they started the last 10 minutes. At 1:09 from the end, Feliz got an offensive rebound and scored, giving the Mariners an 80-75 lead. The Metros tried to react, but a layup by Oliver García with 11 seconds left tightened the score to 82-84. With 8.9 seconds remaining, Omogbo was fouled and made both free throws, sealing the victory. The center finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds. The first quarter ended tied 23-23. Cracknell and Hall stood out with 9 and 8 points respectively for the Metros, while Henry and García scored 13 and 6 points for the Mariners. In the second quarter, the Metros pulled ahead 36-31, but the Mariners closed in 41-42 with a basket by Feliz. The first half concluded 44-43 in favor of the Santiago team. Cracknell scored 13 points, Hall 8 and Fairley 8 with 5 rebounds for the Metros in the first half. Henry contributed 15 points and García 12 with 6 assists for the Mariners.For much of the third quarter, both teams maintained an even game, but the Metros achieved a 65-54 lead with 1:00 remaining, completing an 11-2 run. The score at the end of the third period was 65-56.
The partial scores of the match were 23-23, 20-21, 13-21 and 30-17 in favor of the Mariners.
