Vaqueros de Bayamon Wins 18th BSN Title, Completes Back-to-Back With Game 7 Win Over Aguada

The Vaqueros de Bayamon are champions of Puerto Rico's Baloncesto Superior Nacional once again, holding off the Santeros de Aguada 81-74 in a decisive Game 7 at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez on Sunday to claim the franchise's 18th championship and complete a back-to-back title defense in front of their home crowd.
Bayamon opened the game with intensity, jumping out to a 7-0 run before Jacob Wiley (203-C-1994, college: EWU) got Aguada on the board, and the Vaqueros carried an 18-16 edge after the first quarter. The second period ended even at 15-15, sending the teams to the locker room with Bayamon ahead by just two, 33-31 Aguada had actually controlled the rebounding battle in reverse, with Bayamon winning the boards 23-17 in the half, while Aguada out-assisted the Vaqueros 9-5 with both teams shooting similarly modest percentages from the field.
The tension only grew after the break. A Manny Camper (201-G/F-1999, college: Siena) three gave Aguada its first lead of the game, 36-35, and the two sides traded baskets and the lead throughout the third quarter, which finished tied at 24 apiece Bayamon carried a slim 57-55 edge into the fourth. The game was tied at 65 with five minutes left and Bayamon led just 67-66 a minute later before the champions found another gear. Stephen Thompson Jr. (194-G-1997, college: Oregon St.) and Renaldo Balkman (203-F/C-1984, college: S.Carolina) hit back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead to 73-68 with 2:43 remaining, but Aguada had an answer of its own Wiley scored four straight points to cut it to 73-72.
With 56 seconds left, Gary Browne (184-PG-1993, college: WVU) connected from mid-range to restore a three-point cushion, 75-72, and the next possession produced one of the biggest plays of the night: Balkman blocked a shot from Joel Soriano (208-C-2000, college: St.John's) to give Bayamon the ball back, and Browne converted both free throws on the ensuing possession to make it 77-72 with 28.3 seconds left. Soriano kept Aguada alive with a putback dunk off an offensive rebound, but Javier Mojica (189-SG-1984, college: CCSU, agency: Paris Global Sports) answered from the free-throw line to make it 79-74 with 19.7 seconds remaining, and Aguada couldn't find another basket. Jassel Perez (195-G/F-2001) closed it out with two free throws, and Bayamon celebrated its 18th championship as the clock hit zero.
Perez led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting, adding a 24 efficiency rating, and Chris McCullough (208-F/C-1995, college: Syracuse) contributed 12 points and eight rebounds. Mojica, Bayamon's captain, added 13 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from three, Damian Jones posted a 7-point, 10-rebound effort, and Browne finished with eight points and five rebounds, including the decisive free throws down the stretch. For Aguada, Soriano led the way with 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting, Rigoberto Mendoza (191-SG-1992) added 12 points and eight rebounds, and captain Ivan Gandia-Rosa (185-PG-1997, college: UNF) and Wiley each scored 11 and 14 points respectively, but it wasn't enough to prevent Bayamon from closing out the series.
The championship capped a Final Brava series that began with two straight Bayamon wins, saw Aguada twice fight back to tie it first at 2-2, then again at 3-3 before the Vaqueros settled it in front of their own fans in the decisive seventh game.