PR wins first medals, silver & bronze, in mountain biking at CAC Games

Suheily Rodríguez, left, won the silver medal in the women’s cross-country final on Saturday for Puerto Rico’s first-ever medal in mountain biking at the Central American and Caribbean Games. (COPUR)

Basketball, handball & table tennis teams advance

By THE STAR STAFF

Puerto Rico added one silver and four bronze medals, advanced to several decisive rounds, and maintained its winning momentum in team sports on Saturday at the 25th Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo (2026).

Mountain biking opened the day’s medal count. Suheily Rodríguez won the silver medal in the women’s event -- Puerto Rico’s first-ever medal in this discipline at the Central American and Caribbean Games -- while Georwill Pérez took bronze in the men’s event, a result that marked the Puerto Rican delegation’s 50th medal of the games.

The swimming competition concluded with two silver medals for Puerto Rico. Kristen Romano finished second in the 200-meter backstroke, and Yeziel Morales won silver in the same event on the men’s side. Puerto Rican swimmers wrapped up the tournament with 14 medals: six gold, three silver and five bronze.

Women’s wrestling contributed two bronze medals, courtesy of Paola Rodríguez (76 kilograms) and Ruth Jiménez (68 kg), as Puerto Rico brought its total medal haul in the discipline to five.

In men’s basketball, Puerto Rico defeated Belize 111-68, finishing the preliminary round undefeated and qualifying for the final, where they will compete for the gold medal against the Dominican Republic tonight at 8:30.

The 3x3 basketball tournament began with victories for both the Puerto Rican men’s and women’s teams in their respective openers.

The men’s handball team improved its record to 2-0 after beating Nicaragua 39-29, while the field hockey team secured its first official victory by defeating Bermuda in a shootout (Puerto Rico will now play for fifth place).

In baseball, Puerto Rico (1-1) fell 4-0 to Cuba in Group A.

In other competitions, the men’s and women’s table tennis teams opened the tournament with victories. Stephanie Pinheiro advanced to the boxing semifinals, and the triathlon competition concluded with both individual and team events.