2029 FIBA AmeriCup Pre-Qualifiers: El Salvador Dazzles Home Crowd with 70–55 Win Over Honduras

Playing in front of their home fans at the Gimnasio Nacional Adolfo Pineda, El Salvador put on an impressive display to defeat Honduras 70–55 in Group A of the FIBA AmeriCup 2029 Central American Pre-Qualifiers, securing their second win of the tournament. El Salvador set the tone from the opening tip, exploding out of the gate with a blistering 23–7 first quarter that effectively put the game beyond Honduras's reach early. A 22–0 scoring run at some point during the contest encapsulated El Salvador's dominance, and the hosts led for an extraordinary 39 of the game's 40 minutes. Honduras showed some fight in the second half, particularly in a spirited third quarter where they outscored El Salvador 21–16, but the early deficit proved too steep to overcome. The visitors managed just 13 points in both the opening and final quarters, while El Salvador's interior efficiency shone through — shooting 50% on two-point attempts compared to Honduras's 32.4%. Brayan Garcia (200-C-1998) was the undisputed star of the night for El Salvador, pouring in a massive 33 points to lead all scorers. For Honduras, Jose Rapalo (183-G-1998) did his best to keep his team competitive with 17 points, but received little support.
The result keeps El Salvador firmly in the hunt for qualification. With the two Saturday games now complete, Costa Rica and El Salvador sit atop Group A, both unbeaten with 2–0 records. Honduras and Guatemala are both winless at 0–2 and face an elimination showdown against each other on Sunday, March 22, when their final group stage game will determine who finishes third. Meanwhile, a Costa Rica vs. El Salvador clash to decide the group winner looms as the tournament's marquee matchup.