PUERTO LA CRUZ, Venezuela (Interstat) — The Marinos held off the Guaiqueries 80-79 on Monday to take a 3-0 lead in the Venezuelan SLB playoff series.

Anzoátegui led 26-11 after the first quarter and 48-38 at halftime. Margarita rallied in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 66-61 and pulled within one in the fourth but could not overtake the Marinos.

Gelvis Solano led Margarita with 23 points and five assists. Juan Guerrero added 22 points and 14 rebounds. Nahziah Carter scored 11 points off the bench. Pedro Chourio added 10 points.

K.J. McDaniels paced Anzoátegui with 21 points and four rebounds. Michael Bryson scored 15 points with six rebounds. Gregory Vargas contributed 14 points and six assists. Nestor Colmenares had 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Marinos improved to 24-12 while the Guaiqueries fell to 23-17. Anzoátegui can complete the sweep Tuesday in Game 4 at the same venue.