Jamaica's male basketball team must now turn their focus on beating Mexico if they are to advance from Group B of the Centrobasket Championships, after suffering a 80-64 loss to the Dominican Republic yesterday.

The loss was the first for the Jamaicans, who got the tournament under way with an impressive 91-64 victory over Costa Rica on Monday, and then a 80-64 win over the US Virgin Islands on Tuesday. However, tournament favourites Dominican Republic proved to be a bit too hot to handle.

Shooting guard Weyinmi Rose was the team's joint leading scorer in a losing effort for Jamaica with 15 points and seven rebounds, the same number of points as power forward Samardo Samuels of the NBA's Cleveland Cavalier franchise. They were, however, no match for the Atlanta Hawks' Al Horford who netted 23 points, 10 rebounds - double double.

Manuel Fortuna Lara and Silvestre Coronado Gil were the Dominican Republic's second-highest scorers with 19 points each. Mexico, who had won the same number of games as Jamaica, were also handily defeated by the Dominican Republic. The Jamaicans will tip off against Mexico at 3:30 p.m. (local time) today.