Fuerza Regia de Monterrey protected home court with a hard-fought 95-89 victory over El Calor de Cancún in Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional action, closing out a night that was far tighter than the final margin suggests. The win keeps the Monterrey side firmly in the upper tier of the LNBP table, while Cancún leaves with a respectable road performance and a handful of late possessions it will want back.

Match Overview

• Competition: Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP)
• Fixture: Fuerza Regia vs. El Calor de Cancún
• Final score: Fuerza Regia 95, El Calor de Cancún 89
• Result: Home win (six-point margin)
• Venue: Gimnasio Nuevo León Unido, Monterrey

On paper it looked like a routine home assignment for one of Mexican basketball's most decorated franchises. On the floor it was anything but. El Calor arrived with a clear plan — slow the tempo, attack the offensive glass, and force Fuerza Regia to win from the perimeter — and for three quarters that plan worked well enough to keep the visitors within a single possession.

How the Game Unfolded

The hosts came out sharp. Fuerza Regia opened with an aggressive switching defense and pushed the ball off every defensive rebound, turning early Cancún misses into transition points. A 24-point first quarter set the tone, and by the middle of the second period the Monterrey lead had stretched toward double digits behind efficient inside scoring and a pair of quick-strike three-pointers from the wings.

Cancún, though, refused to fold. The visitors clawed back after halftime with their best stretch of the night, a 26-point third quarter built on dribble penetration and second-chance buckets. El Calor repeatedly trimmed the deficit to four and then three, and a corner three early in the fourth briefly made it a one-possession game.

The decisive sequence came in the final four minutes. With the shot clock winding down and the crowd on its feet, Fuerza Regia converted back-to-back high-percentage looks — one off a pick-and-roll lob, one from a baseline drive — before icing the game at the free-throw line. Cancún had chances in the last 90 seconds but came up empty on two contested jumpers and a turnover, and the hosts closed it out from the stripe.

Tactical Story

The game turned on the battle between Fuerza Regia's half-court discipline and El Calor's willingness to play ugly. Cancún packed the paint, dared Monterrey to shoot over the top, and crashed the offensive boards with three and sometimes four players. That approach generated extra possessions and kept the game close, but it also left the visitors vulnerable in transition.

Fuerza Regia's coaching staff adjusted by going smaller in the second half, spreading the floor with four shooters around a single big. The move opened driving lanes, forced Cancún's help defense to travel longer distances, and produced a steady stream of free throws. The hosts finished the night with a clear advantage at the line — the kind of quiet, unglamorous edge that decides six-point games.

Defensively, Monterrey's late-game switch to a more conservative drop coverage took away the paint touches that had fueled Cancún's third-quarter run. El Calor's guards were forced into mid-range attempts, and the visitors' shooting cooled at exactly the wrong moment.

Standout Performers

• Fuerza Regia's starting point guard controlled tempo throughout, finishing with a game-high assist total and repeatedly breaking down Cancún's first line of defense in the fourth quarter.
• The Monterrey big man anchored both ends, controlling the defensive glass and scoring efficiently in the pick-and-roll while staying out of foul trouble down the stretch.
• El Calor's import forward was the best player on the floor for long stretches, carrying the offense through the third-quarter comeback with a mix of post moves and perimeter shooting.
• Cancún's bench provided a genuine spark, outscoring its Monterrey counterpart and keeping the visitors within striking distance when the starters needed rest.

What It Means for the LNBP Standings

The result strengthens Fuerza Regia's position among the league's top seeds and adds another home win to a résumé that matters a great deal in a competition where