PONCE - Atleticos de San German, Capitanes de Arecibo, Leones de Ponce and Mets de Guaynabo are tied in first place of Baloncesto Superior Nacional with a 2-0 record after the first weekend of action.

San German opened the season with a dramatic win over Bayamon 70-68 as Donald Copeland made a three pointer with 1.4 seconds left to get the win.

Copeland was also key in their second win as they dominated Indios de Mayagüez 89-76. In that game Copeland had 22 points and import Monty Wilson added 20 in front of a sold out arena.

Capitanes de Arecibo opened the season on the road on Friday and defeated Indios de Mayagüez 86-74. Larry Ayuso led the way with 20 points and David Cortes added 15 for Capitanes. In the loss import Michael Gale netted 20 points.

Then at home Capitanes dominated Vaqueros de Bayamon 86-73 as national team members Larry Ayuso led with 20 and Angelo Reyes helped with 19. Christian Dalmau led Bayamon, who are 0-2, with 28 points.

Leones de Ponce started the season with a dramatic win over Piratas de Quebradillas 76-73. Quebradillas dominated the first three quarters and in the final ten minutes Ponce made a 28-8 run led by Ricky Melendez

and Alvin Cruz to get the win. The first lead from Ponce came with a three pointer by Melendez 43.8 seconds left and then two free throws with 7.4 seconds sealed the win. DerMarr Johnson led Ponce with 20 points, Melendez had 13 (all of them in the final quarter) and Alvin Cruz 12 points with 7 assists.

Then in their home opener, Ponce had another slow start but thanks to their depth dominated the last three quarters to beat Caciques de Humacao 93-75. Ricky Melendez led Leones with 25 points, including seven three pointers, while DerMarr Johnson had 16 points and Bobby Joe Hatton 15. In that game Leones retired the #4 worn by Javier "Toñito" Colon for 21 years. Colon was also a former Puerto Rican national team player in the 90's and considered one of the best point guards in the history of the league.

Mets de Guaynabo defeated Cangrejeros de Santurce 81-80 thanks to two free throws by Marcus Fizer with just seconds left on the clock. In that game Angel Figueroa and Antoine Walker scored 17 points each and Fizer added 14.

Then on Sunday they went to Isabela and defeated Gallitos 103-97 in overtime. Angel Figueroa scored a free throw with one second left to force the game into overtime tied at 86. Figueroa and Carlos Escalera led the winners with 24 points each.

Mayagüez, Humacao, and Bayamon share a 0-2 record while Santurce and Quebradillas have an 0-1 record to be in the bottom part of the standings.

The league action continues on Tuesday as Gallitos de Isabela (1-1) visit Vaqueros de Bayamon.

FIBA Americas