Hernandez Erupts for 39 as Leones Win the Liga de Desarrollo Crown

Leones are the champions of Guatemala's Liga de Desarrollo, riding a monster night from Herlyn Hernandez to beat Amatitlan 79-72 in the championship game.
Hernandez was simply unstoppable, pouring in a game-high 39 points on 12-of-23 shooting and a near-perfect 13-of-14 from the free-throw line, adding seven rebounds and three steals to carry his team to the title. He got crucial support inside from Samuel Cotta, who posted a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double, while Dereck Morgan hauled in 11 boards and Kam Byrd (180-PG, college: MGCC) chipped in 10 points. Leones won despite shooting just 36 percent from the field, leaning on a dominant 45-37 rebounding edge and ruthless free-throw shooting 19-of-20 as a team, 95 percent.
Amatitlan had the more balanced attack but could not match Leones down the stretch. David Monterroso (180-PG-1979) led them with 22 points, including four three-pointers, Kedrick Frink (190-G, college: Salisbury, agency: Fully Feared Sports) notched a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double, and Mario Reyes (C-2001) added 16. Ultimately, though, no one on their side could answer Hernandez.
Both finalists had survived tense best-of-three semifinals to get there. Leones edged PIBA 2-1, dropping the middle game 97-78 but bracketing it with a 96-85 opener and a nervy 77-75 decider. Amatitlan followed the same script against Crossover, winning 100-82 and 87-61 around an 87-77 loss to take that series 2-1 as well.