Dominican Republic overwhelms Chile and moves closer to Basketball World Cup

The Dominican Republic turned its final qualifying-window game against Chile into a one-sided contest, winning 101-66 at the Arena Banreservas Virgilio Travieso Soto.

Andrés Feliz led four Dominican players in double figures with 17 points. Richard Bautista scored 14, Jean Montero added 12 and David Jones had 11. Bautista also led the defensive pressure with five steals as the Dominican team forced turnovers and collected 20 offensive rebounds.

Chile stayed within reach at halftime, trailing 42-36. The game changed in the third quarter, when the hosts opened a 33-10 run and extended their lead to 75-46. Twelve Dominican players saw action, with Chad Baker Mazara making his debut and scoring five points in 12 minutes. Andersson García was the only Dominican player who failed to score.

The victory lifted the Dominican Republic to 6-2 and 14 points, with four games left to determine seven qualifying places. The team will visit Colombia on Nov. 27 and Chile on Nov. 30, before hosting Brazil on Feb. 25 and Colombia on Feb. 28.

The top three teams in each group and the best fourth-place team will reach the Qatar 2027 World Cup. Chile, at 2-6 and 10 points, ended its hopes of qualifying. Puerto Rico also suffered a setback, losing 80-75 to Uruguay in Montevideo and dropping to fifth in its group at 2-6.