Gurabo’s Kingdom Christian Academy Advances to Buzzer Beater Final, Faces Caguas Private School for Championship

Gurabo – The Kingdom Christian Academy team will return to the final of the Buzzer Beater by defeating Academia Cristiana Cohélet, from Las Piedras, on Sunday by a score of 53-48, at the Fernando “Rubén” Hernández Coliseum.

Kingdom, ranked fourth, returns to its third consecutive final in seven editions of the competition. The men’s final, against Caguas Private School, will be on Tuesday at 8:00 pm

With the first half ending 22-19 in favor of Cohélet, Kingdom made adjustments and started the third quarter with an 11-0 lead to make the score 30-22.

“We are very excited because we didn’t know we were going to go this far this year. I said, ‘How are we going to do it?’ “A lot of people didn’t give us a chance in the round of 32 or in the eight, but the boys are trusting in the process and here we are,” Kingdom leader Yan Acosta told El Nuevo Día after advancing to the final.

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In an effort to demonstrate why they were the favorites, Cohélet regained command in the fourth quarter 37-36, and later expanded the lead to 39-36.

In that same period, with a rally of three three-pointers, including two by Akiles Rodríguez, Kingdom managed to pull away 47-44, with 1:15 left to play.

“We went without pressure, the pressure was on them because they were the favorites all year. We are warriors, and we went to play hard as always,” said Rodríguez, on the other hand.

Rodríguez finished as the offensive leader with 15 points. On the other hand, Janiel Molina, top scorer in the last two Top Ranked games with 17 and 21, added 10 points.

“I feel good because we reached the final, which was what we wanted. We trust in ourselves and in the coach’s plan,” said Molina.

To close with a flourish, Molina sealed the victory with a triple with only one second left in the duel.

For Cohélet, Jeremy Vélez contributed 13 points, one rebound and four assists. Meanwhile, Ángel Pérez recorded a double double with 11 points and 10 catches.

For its part, Caguas Private School (CPS) beat Colegio San Felipe de Arecibo 50-40 on the last day of Sunday and will play its first final in the tournament.

“CPS” maintained dominance throughout the entire match, except on the rare occasions when the Arecibe team organized its game. This was the case, when with a rally of points, San Felipe got closer to 27-26 in the third quarter.

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In the fourth half, CPS took off again with two three-pointers in a row, which made the score 41-26. With two minutes remaining in the match, San Felipe reduced the lead to 43-35, although not enough.

The Creole institution closed the first half with a great advantage of 22-9.

In the victory, Andrés Díaz and Marcos Cintron scored 15 points each.

“I am happy with my team, proud. We have worked hard to be here and I am grateful to God. Defense has been the key in this victory and in the previous ones,” Eddiel Meléndez, who scored 10 points, told this medium.

Eddie Meléndez in action for “CPS”. (Supplied/Buzzer Beater)

“It is an emotion because of what this tournament means in which we had control of the motions and we had a clear goal and objective. The stage is big for them,” concluded, on the other hand, the leader of CPS, Iván Ríos.

In the defeat, Bryan Berríos stood out with 13 points.

2024-03-18 03:55:43
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