AYUSO vs ENGLISH
Puerto Rico hangs on for 72-66 victory over Canada,
earns berth in semifinals of FIBA Americas
Puerto Rico took advantage of its second chance.
On the verge of being eliminated from the FIBA Americas tournament four days ago, Puerto Rico made its way to the semifinals with a 72-66 victory over Canada on Thursday night.
Puerto Rico (3-4) will face the United States in Saturday's semifinals with the winner of that game earning a berth in the Beijing Olympics.
Last Sunday night, Puerto Rico looked like it wouldn't even reach the second round of this 10-team tournament. It needed Argentina to beat Panama and with two minutes left in regulation Argentina was down seven points.
Most of the Puerto Rico team was in the stands that night to watch Argentina force overtime and go on to a 109-92 victory.
"Our thanks go to the Argentina basketball team because they gave us the opportunity and that's the kind of gift basketball gives," said Puerto Rico guard Carlos Arroyo, who plays for the Orlando Magic. "We knew we had to take advantage of it in the second round and show the kind of team we have."
Puerto Rico won three of its four games in the second round and the last was the win over Canada (3-4), which looked to be a rout early in the fourth quarter but turned into a game decided by free throws.
John Peter Ramos' hook shot two minutes into the fourth quarter gave Puerto Rico a 62-43 lead. Canada, coming off a third quarter when it shot 3-for-18 from the field, suddenly started hitting shots and went on an 11-0 run.
BATTLE OF THE UNDEFEATED: USA vs ARGENTINA 91-76
After Arroyo's driving jumper gave Puerto Rico a 68-61 lead with 3:06 to play, Puerto Rico came up empty on six straight possessions. But Canada didn't take advantage missing three of six free throws before David Thomas' layup got it within 68-66 with 21 seconds left.
Jose Juan Barea, who plays for the Dallas Mavericks, made two free throws for Puerto Rico with 16 seconds left and Filiberto Rivera added two more with 8.2 seconds left for the final margin.
Canada finished 12-for-24 from the line.
"We couldn't get all the way out of it," said Thomas, who led Canada with 18 points. "Free throws hurt us the whole time. We're going to get better and hopefully it will show next summer."
Even though Canada didn't reach the semifinals, it -- along with the semifinals losers here -- advance to an Olympic qualifying tournament next July when the final three berths in Beijing will be decided.
"We all get a little greedy," Canada coach Leo Rautins said. "The top two go from here and that's what we wanted but realistically, with this team's age and experience, the top five gets us where we want to be. We'll be a year older and a year stronger. The road's just beginning. The door didn't close, it swung wide open for us to get where we want to be next year."
Puerto Rico will face the United States, which beat Argentina 91-76 on Thursday night in the matchup of unbeaten teams.
"They're close to the Jordan team," Barea said, referring to the United States' original Dream Team in 1992, "so we'll come out and have fun."
FIBA AMERICAS TOP 10 - 30/08/2007
Arroyo, who led Puerto Rico with 22 points, was more serious.
"It's still possible so we have to keep our focus," he said of beating the United States, which won the second-round meeting 117-78. "We can't show up with the defeat mentality. It's in our hands. We have a very talented team and we have to play like we're capable of doing it."
JIM O'CONNELL
AP Basketball Writer
Post je objavljen 31.08.2007. u 23:51 sati.