ANKARA (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Puerto Rico come into the FIBA World Championship in confident mood after finishing second in last year’s FIBA Americas tournament and winning last month’s Centro Basket in the Dominican Republic.

Star guard Carlos Arroyo has been an intrical part of his country’s success over the years and that will be no different in Turkey.

With Group C one of the most difficult to predict and arguably the most open, Arroyo is looking forward to leading his team to more glory, this time on a global stage.

FIBA: You come into this tournament after an impressive performance at last year’s FIBA Americas Championship. How do you approach this tournament?
Arroyo: We have high expectations. Our team is well prepared for this year’s tournament. It’s up to us. We’ve been wanting to be a part of this for a long time so this is definitely a great opportunity for us to represent our country with a lot of pride and do it better than we did last time (in 2006 in Japan).

FIBA: Personally, how do you see your role to what it was four years ago?
Arroyo: It’s definitely different you know. I’ll be starting at shooting guard because of our alignment. It’s something I’ve been working on throughout the summer to try and do the best I can there because it’s not my normal position. We have to do what helps us to win. You have to sacrifice, play a different role to do what’s best for the team.

FIBA: You were dealt a blow late in your preparations with the withdrawals of veterans Larry Ayuso and Christian Dalmau. Is that something you’ve been able to get over and has that brought the group closer?
Arroyo: I think yes we’ve been able to put it aside. We’ve taken a step forward and we’re looking to have a great tournament. We lost key players in Ayuso and Dalmau and we’re truly going to miss them but we have to play with the guys that we have here.

FIBA: Can you talk about some of the guys that could be the x factor?
Arroyo: You look at Guillermo Diaz, Renaldo Balkman and Nathan Peavy. Those guys are willing to sacrifice to be able to be a part of this team and represent the country. That’s something we truly respect and we welcome them with open arms. It’s their first time playing in the World Championship so hopefully it will be a great experience for them. They understand that it’s going to be high-level competition every night

FIBA: Daniel Santiago and you boast the most experience among this group. As well as leading by example, are you also vocal leaders?
Arroyo: Yes definitely. With a group of mixed guys, veterans and young guys coming in, we have to be the vocal leaders on the team and that comes with time.

FIBA