The Cowboys return to the throne of the National Superior Basketball

San German. The Bayamón Cowboys returned to the throne of the National Superior Basketball (BSN) on Saturday when they prevailed over the San Germán Athletics in the sixth game of the final series with a score of 75-61 in a match held at the Arquelio Torres Ramírez court.

The Cowboys entered the game with a 3-2 lead after a beating by the Athletics on Thursday night at the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum where they dominated the orange team by 31 points, 96-65.

The conquered championship took the Cowboys off the list of the teams with the most crowns in the history of the BSN. It was 16 for the franchise and the second in the past three years. Meanwhile, the Leones de Ponce and the Atléticos themselves follow with 14 each.

Bayamón was also crowned in 2020 when it was played in a bubble format.

The veteran shooting guard of the Cowboys, Javier Mojica, was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the final series.

As usual for San Germán, the Athletics attempted a comeback in the final quarter with the offensive awakening of Rondae Hollis Jefferson in the final period that put the Athletics to only seven points.

But a 3-pointer by Kristian Doolittle, a basket by Angel Rodríguez and two additional free throws by Doolittle ended the drive and cleared the way for the Cowboys to easily dominate.

The first period began with a basket by Hollis Jefferson just after the opening jump. But the locals’ aim was only 3 of their 10 attempts for 30% while Bayamón insisted on the plan of the last game: put pressure on Hollis Jefferson with Doolittle and Luis Cuascut.

The Bayamo defense led the Athletics to make awkward shots, and the ones that weren’t awkward missed them anyway.

Nate Mason returned to the court but in the first quarter he had neither the spark nor the usual aggressiveness.

The strong cowboy defense continued in the second quarter, and Javier González started it with a triple for the Cowboys. Then, Doolittle had six points that helped the visitors take off even more, who showed dominance in the paint.

The Cowboys’ balanced offense also had points from Stephen Thompson, Ismael Romero and Ángel Rodríguez.

The Athletics had a brief awakening with baskets by Onzie Branch, Glen Sanabria and Josué Erazo. But each local basket seemed to be answered by their rivals.

Doolittle and Rodríguez finished the half with eight points apiece, while Mojica added five and Jacob Wiley four for the Cowboys. For the Athletics, Jorge Brian Díaz, Rondae Hollis Jefferson and Josué Erazo contributed four each. Nate Mason went to love by missing all three of his attempts.

Entering the second half saw the A’s return with more spark and a tighter defense. Mason finally scored and Money Rodríguez and Tjader Fernández hit 3-pointers that put the A’s within 10 points of their rivals.

However, the Cowboys’ defensive strategy with Doolittle and Cuascut on Hollis Jefferson continued to pay off as the Cowboys improved their shooting in the second half of the quarter. And the cowboy recovery found its way, reaching its peak when a 3-pointer by Stephen Thompson gave them a 17-point lead, 57-40 with 52 seconds left in the period.

Hollis Jefferson took over the final period.

The imported player made two baskets in which he was fouled, and added another basket to bring the Athletics closer to 60-53 with 7:56 to play, which revived the Arquelio stands.

At the other end, however, Jacob Wiley kept the Cowboys at bay by hitting back-to-back baskets in the paint to make it 64-53. Hollis Jefferson and Jorge Brian Díaz left the score 64-57, and Ángel Rodríguez added another basket.