In an electrifying final, the Criollos de Caguas closed the first half with a narrow lead of 49-45. The atmosphere at the Coliseo Roger Mendoza was a roller coaster of emotions, with surprises that included a blackout that stopped the game for fifteen minutes during the second period.
When play resumed, Christian Pizarro stood out with an impressive run of 11 points in a 14-5 streak starting at the 8:52 mark. On the other side, Alex Morales led the Osos with 15 points, joined by Check Diallo, who added 10.
The second half was a complete display of dominance by the Criollos. Alexander Kappos finished as the leading scorer with 22 points, followed by Travis Trice, who contributed 11 points and 8 assists, and Louis King, who recorded 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
This championship not only ends a 15-year drought for the Criollos de Caguas, it also marks the first BSN title for head coach Wilhelmus Caanen.
"This is the fruit of teamwork," the coach exclaimed upon receiving the championship trophy.
Three key points from the 2024 BSN Finals
Caguas had not celebrated a championship since 2006, when they defeated the Cangrejeros de Santurce in 5 games.
Travis Trice was named the Most Valuable Player of the finals series. This makes him the second person to win both the regular-season and finals series MVP, after Eddie Casiano in 1997.
Cuco López went from being on the verge of retirement a week ago to becoming one of the most valuable players in the franchise's history and walking away with the championship.
Putting down roots in unity
Criollos owner Ric Elias expressed his gratitude and emotion after the victory, crediting all the success to the team's effort and unity: "This is one of the few teams I've seen where the players became teammates first, and that unity is what brought us here. They say it themselves: last night they didn't want to leave practice because they didn't want it to end," the businessman said.
"What I hope is that this team helps many players build very good careers, that they develop. This year we were lucky; other years we won't be, but that's not what matters. What we were able to prove today is that this culture already has roots," Elias said.
Cover photo credit: Edgardo Medina (@biggies_photography)
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
