Rivera: “If we want a medal, we can't put ourselves down or lower our heads”

CORDOBA (FIBA AmeriCup 2017) - Point Guard Ángel Rivera and Coach Sam Mitchell agreed that the lack of experience in these types of tournaments was key for the Virgin Islands’ defeat against United States (90-62) in one of the FIBA AmeriCup 2017 Semi-Finals, whose decisive game will take place this Sunday at the Orfeo Superdome in the city of Cordoba.

“We're a very young team and we need to work a lot on our future. This evening we did what we could and the lack of experience was fundamental. The height difference was also a determining factor,” Rivera pointed out.

“Nonetheless, this defeat serves as a lesson towards the third-place game. We can’t put ourselves down or lower our heads when we're 15 points down. If we want a medal, that can’t happen,” the Point Guard highlighted who missed the first phase and later was added to the team as soon as the Semi-Finals in Cordoba began.

“The lack of experience in our game was noticeable. We’re a younger team and we're on a lesser level. The United States made that quite noticeable,” said Sam Mitchell. “The two first games in the tournament were very good for our team, but our weaknesses showed during the next two. We were far from playing at the same level as the United States,” the coach added.

FIBA