Criollos de Caguas beat Vakueros de Bayamón 96 to 88 on Monday in the BSN league in Puerto Rico. The visitors took the series lead in what has become a running fight between the two sides. They had lost three of the last four meetings before this one.
Vakueros kept the game close for most of the night, outassisting their opponents 27 to 18 and grabbing more rebounds 31 to 29. To be fair, they also recorded more steals, eight to three, and forced eighteen turnovers. But they could not convert those chances into a win.
The shooting numbers tell the story. Vakueros hit eight field goals from twenty-five attempts and eight three-pointers from twenty-five attempts. Criollos managed twelve field goals from thirty-five attempts but made twelve three-pointers from thirty-five attempts. By then the damage was done.
Both sides struggled from the line. Vakueros made sixteen of twenty-three free throws while Criollos converted twenty-two out of twenty-seven. The away side also committed more fouls, seventeen to twenty-one, and more turnovers, eighteen to seven.
The result moves Criollos further clear at the top of the table. They sit first with twenty-three wins from thirty-four games, one ahead of Vakueros who remain second with twenty-two victories.