Puerto Rico
The first full week of the season started with two games on Monday and Moca controlled the fourth quarter to defeat Carolina while Santurce pulled away from Isabela. On Tuesday, San German showed that it was possible to quickly build a tough team, getting 35 points from Sidney Cooks and a 15 point, 10 rebound, 10 assist triple-double from Akilah Bethel in a win over struggling Carolina. Morovis escaped Lares in the other game. Manati rolled past Hatillo on Wednesday while Santurce just edged Moca at the end of the other game.
Sidney Cooks had another 31 points on Thursday, but San German fell victim to a late comeback by Morovis. The other game was the second part of the championship rematch and it was Carolina getting the win over Manati. There was only one game on Friday and Lares managed to defeat Moca even though they were down a player. Neither game on Saturday ended up being competitive as Akilah Bethel had 30 points in San German’s win over Isabela while Kaela Hilaire dished out 21 assists in Manati’s win over Morovis. Isabela breezed past Hatillo in Sunday’s game.
El Salvador
The regular season of the closing stage in El Salvador concluded on Sunday, but the week started with a wild game on Tuesday when Elianis Armenteros had 54 points and Dairis Tornell had 40 points for Ahuachapan in a win over Monsenor Romero, which got 34 points from Eugenia Fraguela. The visitors bounced back later in the week when Fraguela had 23 rebounds and Liset Valdes had 26 rebounds in a win. Tornell had another 37 points, but Ahuachapan ended up in last place after surrendering 31 points to Rachel Contreras in a loss to Batanecas. The visitors lost in the last game of the season as Britney Jones had 32 points to seal the top spot for Metapan.
Australia
The championship game of the top division of Big V was played on Saturday. It was far from vintage basketball, but Wyndham, which had captured the top seed by two games, withstood Bulleen, which had been in the middle of a fantastic postseason run, to win the championship.
China
The main league known for bringing in star foreigners has not begun play yet, but the national tournament championship featuring teams from the league and top college teams concluded on Thursday. The tournament gained prominence when top players, including Han Xu and other Olympians, tried to get their teams the win. Sichuan did end up winning this competition as well after defeating Jiangsu on Wednesday. Beijing Normal University finished in 8th place to carry the flag for the non-professional players.
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