The national team of Puerto Rico on Friday got a solid victory with a score of 80-70 over Mexico in their first game of the last and third qualifying window FIBA which is held without an audience at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan.
A great offensive work from Gian Clavell, who led a 7-0 lead in the final minutes of the quarter time against a threatening Aztec quintet, allowed the Puerto Rican squad to now arrive on Saturday with a good Momentum to the commitment to the Bahamas , with which Puerto Rico will seek to punch its ticket to the AmeriCup 2022.
Clavell scored 23 points, 12 of those three-point shots, while owners Shabazz Napier and Jose Juan Barea contributed 13 and 11 points respectively. The Boricuas scored about 17 triple-merit shots.
The Boricuas dominated the first half 22-13, and a three-point basket from rookie Shabazz Napier was responsible for opening the Boricuas score. Interestingly, Napier also closed out the final score with a hat-trick.
A Donqueo de Clavell sentenced the first half, in the face of a second half that had a somewhat erratic start. Puerto Rico did not score in four minutes of action and even allowed Mexico to get a lead that brought them 23-25 with a long-range scoring from veteran Gustavo Ayón. Puerto Rico closed the second half 28-23, dominating the 40-34 half.
The locals had a more effective third time closing with a score of 55-44. But in the fourth quarter they were threatened with a reaction led by Ayón and Gabriel Girón who went to the end for the best for Mexico with 18 and 17 points each.
For Puerto Rico, Ramón Clemente caught 11 rebounds and added seven units.
The victory over Mexico did not guarantee the passage to the AmeriCup. Puerto Rico needs to beat the Bahamas on Saturday to capture the ticket.
Ready for the Bahamas
The leader of the men’s national basketball team, Eddie Cassià, wants to prevent the Bahamas from being a dangerous rival in the face of his aspirations for the AmeriCup 2022 tournament.
Cassià knows that the Bahamian team can do a lot of damage on both sides of the court, but he is already clear about the plan to counter in the second duel of the last FIBA qualifying window in the continental tournament.
“We have the scouting in the Bahamas. It’s a big, hybrid team. It has a lot of shooters. It has a base that did us a lot of damage. They’re athletic. We looked perfect with them,” said the Puerto Rican coach.
Puerto Rico got a hard-fought victory over Bahamas 91-85 last November in the second window in Indianapolis thanks to a final push in the last quarter.
Bahamas baseman D’Shon Taylor was pure poison for the Puerto Rican defense by scoring 25 points, 18 of them from the three-point line.
However, for this edition, Cassià will have more points in the hands of José Juan Barea, Shabazz Napier and Gian Clavell.
He will still have to deal with the eternal problem of lack of stature, as center Jorge Brian Diaz and striker Isaiah Piñeiro are not active for that window.
“We are quite hybrid and fast. In this edition we have many more points than we had at the time. So we have to contain them one on one and keep them isolated and not shoot only three,” he analyzed Cassià.
“But I think defensively, they’re going to have more problems than us because I have more defensive options to be able to attack them,” he added.
The match is scheduled to start at 9:00 pm and will be broadcast by WAPA Sports.