Puerto Rico determined to succeed

Puerto Rico was eliminated in the first round of the 2006 FIBA World Championship and missed the 2008 Olympics, but they are determined to have a great performance at the 2010 FIBA World Championship thanks to a great mix of young and veteran players.

Basketball is the most popular sport in Puerto Rico, having the highest ratings on TV and over the internet for every tournament whether domestic or international. Their fans follow their players passionately and know everything there is to know about them and expect only the best for regional and world tournaments. The new faces coming in bring hope to this nation as they will face their toughest challenge yet, hoping that at the end, they will once again be recognised as a world power.

Puerto Rico has the blessing of having their two NBA point guards Jose Juan Barea and Carlos Arroyo – two players who entered the best league in the world by working hard after going undrafted. Barea is a key component in the Dallas Mavericks team while Carlos Arroyo was a key player off the bench and even started for the Miami Heat. Both playmakers have had successful international careers with the national team but will play together for the first time in the FIBA World Championship. Puerto Rico also have Filiberto Rivera who is a pure point guard and combo players such as Guillermo Diaz and…Christian Dalmau.

Dalmau was supposed to be one of the team’s stars, along with Larry Ayuso. The latter, who was MVP of the latest BSN finals, had consistently been a member of the National Team since 2002 when Puerto Rico finished sixth in the FIBA World Championship, their best performance to date. His deadly shooting from outside as well as his experience should have been key to Puerto Rico’s aspirations. However, just a few days before the 2010 FIBA World Championship, both Dalmau and Ayuso left the team, apparently unhappy with the roles their coach had in mind for them. Marcel Huertas and Guillermo Diaz were called back in to replace them, but it was a very painful experience for coach Manolo Cintron.

The good news from last year was that Puerto Rico didn’t rely only on Dalmau and Ayuso, instead enjoying a balanced offensive performance, where everyone on the roster helped to produce a great showing with an 8-2 record. They only lost to Argentina and Brazil and took home a silver medal.

The addition of Guillermo Diaz adds depth to both guard positions. He came from the Italian league and quickly became the point guard of Capitanes de Arecibo who won the BSN title.
At the small forward position, Coach Manolo Cintron can count on experienced players like Carmelo Lee – a defensive specialist – as well as Angel Daniel Vassallo, the team’s top prospect who had great success in the French League.

Over the years, Puerto Rico has suffered a lot in the paint but they have added Renaldo Balkman from the Denver Nuggets and Nathan Peavy who plays in Germany. Both play great defensively and are complete offensive players at the international level.

Known faces like Peter John Ramos and Ricky Sanchez who are still on the rise, hope to shine in this tournament while Daniel Santiago is rock solid at the center position and played this past season for Turkish powerhouse Efes Pilsen.

Puerto Rico will play in Group C along with China, Greece, Ivory Coast, Russia and hosts Turkey. Puerto Rican National Teams have always had problems with the Greek defense but are 1-1 all-time against them in the FIBA World Championship. They have not beaten Russia in two attempts, defeated Turkey in their only meeting in 2002 in Indianapolis and have positive records against both China and Ivory Coast.

As the talent pool grows, Cintron has all the talent at his disposal to assemble up a team that will make an impact in this tournament. Anything less than a top eight finish will be considered a failure by everyone in Puerto Rico.