SAN FRANCISCO DE MACORÍS.- Lazar Lugic scored 27 points, Yeison Colomé got the winning three-pointer and the Cañeros de Este withstood a reaction from the Gigantes Basketball Club to beat them 105-100 in the Mario Ortega pavilion, in the action of La Súper Liga de la LNB.
You may be interested in: Knicks are one step away from returning to the NBA Finals after defeating Cleveland
Lugic shot 12-8 from the field, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 3 assists, while Marvin Smith Jr. contributed 19 points and Eusebio Suero 18. Colomé also scored 18 points, in addition to 5 assists and 3 steals.
For the Giants, Luismal Ferreiras was immense with 34 points and 16 rebounds, Charles Brown Jr. added 23 points and 7 assists, while Francis King Fitzgerald scored 15 points, with 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Los Cañeros placed their record at 8-8, but must wait for the outcome of a close standings to know if they advance to the elimination phase. The Giants left their record at 12-3, the best in the 2026 season.
After a great third quarter, the Cañeros maintained the intensity in the fourth period. Smith Jr. nailed a three-pointer with 6:19 left, with which the Romanenses took a 10-point lead (96-86).
However, the Giants pressed and a basket by Ferreiras after taking an offensive rebound, with 1:25 remaining, put the score at 100-99, thus completing a 14-3 run.
Despite that push from the Francomacorisano team, the Cañeros didn’t give up and Colomé scored a long three-pointer with 23.9 seconds left, with which the visitors regained the lead 103-100. In the next possession, the Giants couldn’t tie the score, thanks to the good defensive rotation of the winners.
The key for the Cañeros was to make 22 of 43 three-point attempts, for 51 percent. The best was Lugic, shooting 6-5. Smith Jr. made 6 of 9 and Suero 5 of 9 from long distance.
Brown Jr. and Ferreiras helped the Giants, with 13 and 10 points respectively, to win 35-26 in the first quarter. On the side of the Cañeros, Lugic also stood out with 13 units. On two occasions the francomacorisanos had an 11-point lead in the partial.
In the second quarter, the Giants’ lead rose to 43-26, after a three-pointer by Jankarlo Iciano with 8:23. The Cañeros got closer 44-48, after a three-pointer by Matt Herasme with 3:44. But, with 1:31 remaining, Brown Jr. responded with another three-pointer that put the locals ahead 58-47. The half ended 63-52.
In the first 20 minutes of action, the main protagonist was Brown Jr. with 20 points, followed by 14 with 7 rebounds from Ferreiras. The Giants also had 9 units from Fitzgerald. Lugic scored 20 points and Smith Jr. 9 for the Cañeros.
In the third quarter, the Cañeros relied on a great defense to limit the Gigantes to only 14 points. With 3:04 remaining, a basket by Colomé put the East team ahead 75-73 and from then on they maintained control to finish ahead 81-77 after three periods.
The partials concluded 26-35, 26-28, 29-14 and 24-23 for the Cañeros.
Upcoming Meetings
The LNB Super League will rest this Monday, but will return on Tuesday with the Marineros de Puerto Plata visiting the Metros de Santiago at the Oscar Gobaira Arena, at 8:00 pm, while the Soles del Este will receive the Titanes del Sur at the Rolando Ramírez multipurpose room, at 8:30 pm.
