Vaqueros win 17th BSN championship in 5 games

The Bayamón Vaqueros won the BSN finals series in five games.

By The Star Staff

The Bayamón Vaqueros (Cowboys) claimed their 17th Superior National Basketball (BSN by its initials in Spanish) championship on Monday night by defeating the Ponce Leones (Lions) 82-68 at Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum in Bayamón.

The Vaqueros took the best-of-seven series in five games.

Star import Danilo Gallinari, who turned 37 last Friday, led Bayamón with 24 points, followed by Gary Browne and Javier Mojica with 16 each. Rayjon Tucker contributed eight points off the bench.

Browne also handed out eight assists and veteran Renaldo Balkman grabbed a dozen rebounds off the bench for the Vaqueros.

For Ponce, Matthew Mooney led the way with 17 points, Jordan Murphy added 15, and Jared Ruiz had 10. Michael Devoe had six assists.

Mojica’s three-pointer gave the Vaqueros the lead for good, 13-10, with 4:23 left in the first quarter. Gallinari then sank two free throws to increase the lead to five, 15-10, with 3:34 left on the clock. The first quarter ended with Bayamón in front, 22-15. The first half ended with the home team holding a 40-34 edge.

The Vaqueros opened the second half with a 9-2 run to extend the lead to 59-46 after two free throws by Gallinari with 2:41 left in the third quarter, which ended with Bayamón up 62-53.

The biggest margin of the night was 78-61, after a free throw by Browne with 3:15 left in the fourth quarter.

Gallinari, a versatile 6-foot-10 forward from Italy with 15 seasons of NBA experience under his belt, was named MVP of the finals.