Jamaica moved to the top of the points table with a 100% record after defeating Guyana 107-87 in the FIBA 2023 World Cup Americas Pre-qualifiers in El Salvador on Friday evening.
The loss was Guyana’s second on the bounce, after an opening night 84-73 shortfall against Nicaragua on Thursday. The victory for Jamaica was their second in as many games, after they got the better of Costa Rica 69-67, also on Thursday.
The Jamaicans were led by Omari Johnson with 26 points (seven rebounds, three assists), Marcel Robinson with 21 and Romaine Thomas with 18.
Anthony Moe led Guyana’s scoring effort with 25 points; skipper Stanton Rose had 19 and Delroy James 18.
Guyana started positively, taking a four-point lead at the end of the first quarter 24-20. Jamaica came back well in the second quarter, outscoring Guyana 27-18 to lead 47-42 at halftime.
Like they did against Nicaragua, Guyana suffered a third quarter meltdown, as Jamaica went on a 31-15 run to secure a 78-57 advantage leading into the final quarter.
Though Guyana outscored their opponent 30-29 in the final exchanges, at the sound of the final whistle the Jamaicans were way ahead.
Later on Friday evening, Costa Rica will take on hosts El Salvador, while Guyana will be in action again on Saturday, against El Salvador from 21:00h.
The top three teams will advance to the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Americas Pre-Qualifiers in July 2021. All Guyana matches are aired on E-Network Channel 2.
