2026 Central American and Caribbean Games: Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic Finish Group Play Unbeaten, Setting Up the Semifinals

Group play in the men's tournament closed out with all four group leaders confirmed and the semifinal bracket now set, though the day's four games broke down into two comfortable wins and two genuine blowouts.
Belize put together its most complete offensive performance of the tournament against Guatemala, following a modest nine-point opening quarter with 32- and 24-point periods on the way to a 94-64 win. Josiah Moseley (203-F-2006) led the way with 22 points, Elijah Favela (188-G-2006) added 17, and Douglas Langford (201-F-2006, agency: One Motive Sports) controlled the glass with 12 rebounds. Cesar Catalan (190-SG-2007) did what he could for Guatemala with 20 points, and Julio Fernandez added 14, but the Guatemalans never found an answer for Belize's balanced scoring across the middle two quarters. Puerto Rico was similarly dominant against Mexico, building at least 21 points in every quarter for a 95-50 win Rognny Santiago (185-G-2007) scored 17 on 6-of-8 shooting, Felipe Quinones (198-G-2008) added 13, and Dwight Gaines (156-PG-2009) chipped in 20; Ronnie Selleaze (191-G) and Angel Escarcega (178-PG-2007) each managed 12 for Mexico, but the gap was already out of reach by halftime.
Panama and the Dominican Republic delivered the day's two rout results. Panama pulled away from Jamaica in the second and fourth quarters for a 74-43 win, with Aiden Holness scoring a game-high 21 points despite needing 25 shots to get there; Ethan Brown (2007) added 12 for Panama, and no Jamaican player managed to crack the mid-teens in a game that never got closer than single digits after the opening period. The Dominican Republic closed out an unbeaten group phase with an 89-60 win over Nicaragua, getting 18 points from Ronald Garcia and 14 from Angel Javier (189-PG-2006), while David Watson (185-SG-2007)'s 30 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the line were the lone bright spot for the Nicaraguans in defeat.
With group play complete, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic finish atop their respective groups at a perfect 3-0, while Belize and Mexico take the second qualifying spots. Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama and Jamaica are all eliminated. The semifinals are set for Saturday, August 1: Puerto Rico faces Belize at 18:00, followed by the Dominican Republic against Mexico at 20:30.