The Virgin Islands U-17 Male National Basketball Team won the bronze medal Monday in Aguascalientes, Mexico, by defeating the Dominican Republic 81-74.
With the victory, the V.I. team clinched the final spot in the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. This marks the first time that a V.I. team, other than the Senior Men’s National Team, has qualified for the Americas Championship. This championship will feature the top 10 countries of North America, South America and Central America and the Caribbean in 2010.
All Virgin Islanders should be proud of the commitment shown by the young players representing the territory, said Sen. Usie Richards, president of the V.I. Basketball Federation.
In the opening quarter, the Dominican Republic led 12-7 before a 12-4 run by the V.I. squad gave them the lead at 19-14 at the end of the period.
The second quarter was tightly played with the lead exchanging hands on several occasions. The Dominican Republic was up 32-30 with seconds to go in the half when Aaron Brown completed a three-point play to give the V.I. team a 33-32 lead at intermission.
Led mainly by Brown’s offensive prowess in the second half, the V.I. squad was able to maintain a lead throughout the half on their way to clinching the final spot of the championship tournament with an 81-74 victory.
Brown led the V.I. U-17 team with a game-high 31 points, while Merwin Potter and Rasheed Swanston netted 14 each. Eddy Guisarri had 28 points for the Dominican Republic in the loss.