The basketball team Puerto Rico this Sunday at home he qualified for Paris 2024 Olympic Games ended a twenty-year absence by defeating Lithuania 79-68.
Puerto Rican basketball participated for the last time in an Olympic Games in the edition of Athens 2004when they made history by becoming the first team to beat the United States.
Puerto Rico opened the first period guided by the point guard José Alvarado, that expressed the Best player of the tournament. He soon put up eight points and opened up a 6-14 lead.
However, Lithuania, the tenth power in the world of basketball, responded with a series starting with its star, the center Domantas Sabonisuntil leading 14-17.
But, after Davon Reed’s triple and Jordan Howard’s basket, Puerto Rico tied it at 19-19 before the end of the first quarter.
just a moment, Lithuania They came back with a 6-0 run and built the lead to 20-25. Puerto Rico’s coach, Nelson Colonneed to ask for time to rearrange its lines.
During that break, Colon strengthened the work of Alvarado with Tremont Waters.
The combination was crucial for the Puerto Rican offense, which regained control and led 32-34. Afterwards, Lithuanian coach Kazys Maksvytis appealed for technical time to adjust his team’s structure as more than 12,000 fans, including singers Bad Bunny and Ozuna, celebrated in the stands.
Then, Lithuania got closer to the score with a triple by Arnas Butkevicius 35-37, but Waters reappeared with two points and expanded to 39-35 to close the first half of the match.
In the third period, again the offensive power of Waters and Alvarado for Puerto Rico was devastating for Lithuania, because between them, they scored the first 16 points for the Caribbean squad, helping them to a comfortable 55-43.
Puerto Rico changed this lead to twelve points a little bit for the rest of the period until it closed with a 62-50 advantage for the fourth and final quarter, where the Caribbean squad continued to shine until winning and taking the final ticket to the capital. French.
Data sheet:
79. Puerto Rico (19+20+23+18): Piñeiro (4), Conditt (6), Howard (12), Reed (5), Alvarado (23), Thompson (0), Ford (0), Clavell (5), Romero (2), Ortiz (4), Toro (0), Waters (18).
Technician: Nelson Colon.
68. Lithuania (19+16+15+17): Sedekerskis (0), Tubelis (0), Sabonis (10), Jokubaitis (16), Kuzminskas (6), Motiejunas (8), Dimsa (0), Grigonis ( 8), Lekavicius (5), Butkevicius (7), Sirvydis (0), Ulanovas (8).
Technician: Kazys Maksvytis.
Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Yohan Rosso (FRA) and Andrés Bartel (URU).
Incidents: Final match of the Men’s Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament played at the Puerto Rico Coliseum, in San Juan, which provided a berth for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Jason Root, a professional writer working with Today Times Live, the premier news website. I specialize in sports writing, covering the biggest stories in the world of athletics. With an eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, I provide engaging and informative articles that capture the key elements of any event or issue. My work has been featured on numerous respected websites and publications around the world.
