Cangrejeros & Leones tie their respective BSN semifinals series

Jezreel de Jesús again led the Leones of Ponce with 31 points and six rebounds.

By THE STAR STAFF

The Cangrejeros of Santurce and the Leones of Ponce both earned double-digit victories on Sunday in the National Superior Basketball (BSN by its initials in Spanish) league semifinals.

The Cangrejeros defeated the Criollos of Caguas 98-77 at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in Hato Rey, tying the Group A series at 1-1.

After the first quarter ended tied at 22, the home team prevailed in the second period 26-12 and took a 48-34 lead into the intermission.

Santurce gradually extended the lead in the second half to seal the victory.

Ian Clark led the Cangrejeros offense with 16 points. Ángel Matías contributed 14 points, while Isaiah Piñeiro, Devon Collier and Ángel Rodríguez finished with 11 points each. Rodríguez also added eight rebounds and eight assists.

Travis Trice and Christian “Cuco” López scored 16 points each for the Criollos, while Moses Brown added 11 points and nine rebounds.

Game 3 will be played tonight (8 p.m.) at Roger Mendoza Arena in Caguas.

Meanwhile, at Juan “Pachín” Vicens Auditorium in Ponce, the Leones defeated the Atléticos of San Germán 115-96 to even their Group B series at a game apiece.

The Leones trailed by three points after the first quarter but rallied in the second to take a 50-41 lead into halftime. Ponce then extended the lead in the third period to 87-67 en route to a 19-point margin of victory.

The Leones, who led by as many as 28 points, sank 14 three-pointers.

Jezreel de Jesús once again led Ponce with 31 points and six rebounds. Jalen Crutcher added 25 points, Brady Manek finished with 16, Thomas Robinson contributed 15, and TJ Fernández added 13.

André Curbelo was the top performer for San Germán with 26 points and six rebounds. Alex Hamilton, Antonio Gordon and Onzie Branch added 10 points each.

Game 3 will be tonight (8 p.m.) at Arquelio Torres Ramírez Arena in San Germán.