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June 2017
5 Jermine Miranda (PUR)
29/05/2017
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Puerto Rico's minimum goal: Booking U17 ticket

SAN JUAN (FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017) - Puerto Rico made their FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup debut in 2014. After missing the global spectacle in 2016, the minimum goal for the FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017 is to get back to the world stage next summer.

"Our expectations for this tournament is focusing on qualifying for the 2018 U17 world tournament - to get one of those four tickets," Puerto Rico coach Raymond Cintron said. "For our federation it is very important to maintain our level or even exel it, to demonstrate where we stand. We have the talent in our young players for that."

Puerto Rico finished fourth at U16 Americas in 2013 to grab a spot at Dubai 2014. But the country saw Dominican Republic grab the final spot for Zaragoza 2016, leaving Puerto Rico in sixth place in 2015 and watching the U17 tournament from home.

"Our expectations for this tournament is focusing on qualifying for the 2018 U17 world tournament - to get one of those four tickets. For our federation it is very important to maintain our level or even exel it, to demonstrate where we stand. We have the talent in our young players for that."Raymond CintronRaymond Cintron

For this summer's U16 tournament in Formosa from 14-18 June, Puerto Rico have been drawn into Group B with the United States, Mexico and Dominican Republic. The top two teams in the group reach the Semi-Finals and thereby qualify for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018. The fifth-placed finisher could also qualify for the U17 spectacle if Argentina - the hosts of the 2018 world event as well - reach the Semi-Finals.

That makes all the more important Puerto Rico's game against the Dominicans - the teams' final group game. Cintron's team will go into the contest knowing they beat Dominican Republic last summer at the CentroBasket U15 Championship.

"I would not say that gives us confidence, but I can say that it forces us to continue working to maintain and raise our level of competition," Cintron said. "Dominican Republic have been getting better the last couple of years, so we don’t expect less from them."

Jermaine Miranda was the main leader for Puerto Rico at CentroBasket U15 with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists per game as the tournament MVP.

"Jermaine Miranda is a very defensive player with a great game speed. We hope that he maintains his level. He has been working on that," Cintron said.

Another player from which Cintron has expectations is Andre Curbelo, who chipped in 16 points, 7 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 4 steals last summer.

"We expect that his maturity will help our younger players since he had a great tournament and also a great season this year," the coach said of Curbelo.

Cintron believes his team will be stronger and more defensive compared to the 2014 edition.

"We still need to work more on getting to know each other better, but our level of game and basketball IQ have been improving since we have been working together since late November," the coach said.

All that will help the Puerto Rican team reach its minimum goal of qualifying for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup.

FIBA