Deniz doesn't give up: ''We'll keep fighting until there's no other chance to qualify''

MONTEVIDEO (FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Qualifiers) – Mexico lost a very important game against Uruguay, in Montevideo, in a battle where both tried to get closer to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China.

Coach Iván Deniz first was very self-critical and talked about the reasons behind the loss: “We were very bad in the offensive rebound and we gave them options to make point in the second opportunity. We lost the game because of those details.”

The triumph against the United States had been very important to close the first phase, but that point has now lost its value: “We had to recover in the road those games that we lost at home. Against Uruguay it was a good opportunity, but it didn’t happen for us. Anyway, we’ll keep fighting during the windows that we have left, knowing that things get more and more complicated”.

Deniz does not give up and thinks about what is ahead for his national team: “We’ll keep fighting until there's no other option to qualify. Now we’ll keep working and thinking about the next window in November, where we know that we must win to get to the last step and have the chance to be at the World Cup.

Francisco Cruz was the second-best scorer of his team, with 18 units. “Paco” also emphasized on the number of offensive rebounds taken by their rivals: “Uruguay are a team that always play hard. They were more aggressive in the defense than we were, and the rebounds definitely killed us. That was the difference in the game, the free throws on one hand and the rebound attacks (on the other). At the end, things didn't happen for us even though we had the chance of winning the game. We didn't make the shots that we usually do, and that's why we lost.” He also pointed out: “We couldn’t score like we do, but apart from that we lost due to the second opportunities that we gave them. We defended well, but if you give them so much chances, you’ll end up losing.”

HIGHLIGHTS

“We had to recover in the road those games that we lost at home. Against Uruguay it was a good opportunity, but it didn’t happen for us.” - Iván Deniz

"We lost due to the second opportunities that we gave them.” - Francisco Cruz