Quilpue rally from 2-1 down to reach LNB Apertura semifinals with road win in Puente Alto

Colegio Los Leones de Quilpue advanced to the semifinals of the 2026 LNB Apertura playoffs on Monday, dominating Deportivo Puente Alto 83-68 on the road in a decisive Game 5 to win the quarterfinal series 3-2.
The defending Chilean champions seized control early and never let go. A 25-20 first quarter set the tone, and the visitors blew the game open with a devastating 29-15 second period that gave them a commanding 54-35 halftime lead. Puente Alto narrowed the gap with a 19-12 third quarter to make it 66-54 entering the fourth, but Quilpue's depth and championship experience reasserted themselves in the closing minutes, outscoring the hosts 17-14 to seal the 15-point victory.
The series had been a back-and-forth affair, with Puente Alto pushing the regular-season champions to the brink before Quilpue coached by Jose Angel Samaniego produced their best performance when the stakes were highest. Puente Alto had won Game 4 to force the decider, but could not replicate that form on their home floor in the winner-take-all fifth game.
Quilpue's Game 5 triumph extends their bid for back-to-back LNB titles they won their first national championship in 2023-24 and shared the 2024-25 crown (listed as T-2025 in club records). With Copa Chile silverware also in the cabinet from 2016 and 2025, the Marga Marga side continue to assert themselves as one of the dominant forces in modern Chilean basketball.
The result advances Quilpue to the conference semifinals, where they will face Renato Munoz's Universidad Catolica.