Bayamón is on the verge of an 18th BSN title

Javier Mojica scored 11 points, including nine points from long distance, to help the Vaqueros of Bayamón beat the Santeros of Aguada in Game 5 of the BSN finals on Wednesday night and move to within a win of their 18th league title. Game 6 is Friday night in Aguada.

By THE STAR STAFF

The Vaqueros of Bayamón defeated the Santeros of Aguada 97-79 on Wednesday night at Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum in Bayamón to move within a win of the franchise’s 18th National Superior Basketball (BSN by its initials in Spanish) championship.

After losing back-to-back games and seeing the 2-0 series lead they started the best-of-seven finals with vanish, the defending champions responded in front of their home crowd with a wire-to-wire victory that put them on the doorstep of another title.

The Vaqueros began to pull away in the game’s early going. Their lead reached 16 points during the first 10 minutes, which ended with the hosts ahead 33-19.

They maintained the lead during the second period and headed into the locker room with a 16-point advantage, 53-37.

Bayamón picked up the pace again after the break, extending the lead by another four points in the third quarter to enter the final 10 minutes with a comfortable 83-63 advantage.

Jassel Pérez and Chris McCullough led the Vaqueros with 25 points and six rebounds apiece, while Pérez handed out six assists. Gary Browne contributed 14 points and five assists, and Javier Mojica finished with 11 points (nine from beyond the arc).

Joel Soriano led the Santeros with 18 points and four rebounds. Jacob Wiley scored 14 points and John Holland added eight.

The Vaqueros now take a 3-2 series lead into Game 6 on Friday night at Ismael “Chavalillo” Delgado in Aguada, where the Santeros will look to stay alive and force a seventh game.