They stood tall despite the foul trouble to Karl-Anthony Towns.
Despite seeing Karl-Anthony Towns collect four fouls just as the second half started, the Dominican Republic showed they are the real deal by outlasting the stubborn Angola squad, 75-67, on Tuesday in the FIBA World Cup.
Andres Feliz paced the squad with 17 points, nailing clutch baskets in the fourth quarter to keep the Africans at bay. Victor Liz added 13 points.
Towns, who contributed 8 points and 2 rebounds after limited minutes, also managed to play the entire fourth to provide a presence for the Dominicana at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
While foul trouble did not bite the South Americans, Angola got the bitter end of it, suffering a huge blow when Atlanta Hawks big man Bruno Fernando fouled out with 5:13 still remaining in the game.
With the win, the coach Nestor “Che” Garcia-mentored squad swept Group A with a 3-0 record, notching victories against Italy and Gilas Pilipinas earlier in the group phase round.
The triumph also keeps the door open for Gilas to qualify for the second round. If the Filipino hoopers beat Italy by 12 points or more on Tuesday night, they would advance to the Round of 16 alongside the Dominicana.