The Guaynabo Mets are officially on fire and primed for a playoff run with seven games to go in the regular season.
Fresh off their second victory in three nights over the Vaqueros, the Mets are riding a five-game win streak and now sit in second place in the BSN’s B Division, just a half game back of defending champions Bayamón.
“Either at the ranch or at home, Guaynabo is on fire!” read a post on the Mets Facebook page following the game.
DeMarcus Cousins, who hit a three-pointer with four seconds on the clock to seal the win and finished with 31 points and 12 rebounds to earn Player of the Game honors, responded appropriately to the post with a triple “fire” emoji.
But it was far from a one-man show for Guaynabo, which also received strong contributions from Gary Browne (19 points), Jaysean Paige (18 points), E.J. Crawford (14 points) and Mitch Creek (10 points).
Balanced scoring has been crucial to the Mets’ recent success.
In their May 21 victory over Arecibo, the Mets got 25 points from Cousins, 20 from Paige, and 19 from Timothy Soares.
Three nights later against Mayaguez, Cousins posted 37 points, followed by 20 from Soares, 17 from Paige, 15 apiece from Crawford and Renaldo Balkman, and 13 from Khary Mauras.
Taking on Santurce at home on May 26, Cousins and Creek each chipped in 22 points, while Balkman, Paige, and Crawford all scored in double digits in the win.
And in their road victory over Bayamón on May 29, Cousins again filled out the stat sheet with 21 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals, and Crawford led the team in scoring, posting 22 points on 8 -13 shooting.
“PRIMO.”
That was Cousin’s one-word summary of his game-clinching shot Tuesday night in front of a raucous Guaynabo home crowd.
A play on words, “primo” means cousin in Spanish. It also means top notch or highly valuable in English slang.
His play, and that of his teammates, has certainly been primo of late. In addition to their current win streak, the Mets have won 16 of 20 games after a disappointing 1-8 start. But the path ahead doesn’t get any easier for the Mets as they enter the stretch run.
Starting May 31, Guaynabo plays 7 games in 15 days, including another Bayamón showdown, a road matchup against division rival Santurce, and a date with resurgent Humacao.
Only four wins separate the fourth place Cangrejeros and the first place Vaqueros. If the Mets want to punch their ticket to the postseason, they’ll need to keep fanning the flames of victory.