Kofi Cockburn Leads Jamaica to Stunning Win Over Puerto Rico in FIBA World Cup Qualifying
Jamaica surprised Puerto Rico with a hard-fought 89-88 victory to open their FIBA World Cup qualifying campaign. A dominant performance from Kofi Cockburn proved pivotal as Jamaica overcame a resilient Puerto Rican side in a back-and-forth contest.
Puerto Rico coach Carlos González lamented his team’s struggles, stating, “Up by five, and they made us 16-0. It put us in a difficult position and we had to make an effort to hit each other again. We missed some shots in crucial moments. A team whose strength is offensive rebounds, caught 18 and we have to limit that.”
The game saw several lead changes in the fourth quarter. Puerto Rico, trailing 85-73 with 6:38 remaining, launched a 9-0 run, capped by a basket from Alex Morales, to close the gap to 85-82. Later, a triple from Giovanni Clavell gave Puerto Rico a brief 88-87 lead with 1:36 on the clock. However, jamaica responded with free throws from Audige, regaining the lead at 89-88. Clavell missed two subsequent attempts, and Christian Negron’s offensive rebound also failed to convert into points.
Puerto Rico initially overcame an eight-point first-quarter deficit (23-15) with a triple from Zeigler, bringing the score to 26-25 with 21 seconds left in the period. Ortiz,returning to the national team,spearheaded the comeback,contributing eight points. Negron added five points and five rebounds as a starter.
At halftime, Puerto Rico trailed 57-52, led by 12 points from Ortiz and 11 from Clavell. Despite being undersized, Puerto Rico had won the offensive rebounding battle 13-11 in the first half, generating nine second-chance points, with Jordan Cintron securing seven offensive rebounds.
Jamaica started the second half strong with an 8-0 run, retaking the lead at 60-57, prompting a timeout from Carlos González. The visitors then extended their lead with a 16-0 run, halted only by a block from Negron on Cockburn, preventing the run from reaching 18-0.
Puerto Rico broke their offensive drought with a basket by Isaiah Piñerio with 4:56 left. Prior to the basket, Puerto Rican guard Thompson was forced to leave the game after suffering an elbow to the mouth, resulting in bleeding and a trip to the dressing room; he did not return.
zeigler re-entered the game and provided a spark with seven points, energizing the home crowd. Despite this, Jamaica entered the final period leading 76-68, largely due to Cockburn’s dominance in the paint.
Ultimately, Jamaica held on to secure the 89-88 victory, marking a important upset and a strong start to their FIBA World cup qualifying journey.