ARG/MEX - Argentina beats Mexico in friendly game:

MEXICO CITY (2009 FIBA Americas Championship) - Argentina defeated Mexico 86-75 in a friendly game played at Juan de la Barrera Gym in Mexico City as they prepare for the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship to be played from August 26 to September 6.

The Argentineans had a 16 point lead in the second quarter and in the third quarter the Mexicans reacted to close the lead to four points. Guard Juan Pablo Cantero came to the rescue in the third quarter with 8 points to decide the game.

Cantero led with 15 points while Paolo Quinteros netted 14 and Luis Scola 13. In a losing effort Romel Beck and Gustavo Ayon scored 14 points each, Noe Alonzo along with Horacio Llamas 13 and Omar Quintero 11.

"These are the games that help us, the wins that mean something and gets us closer to the FIBA World Championship, I would have wanted to play two games, but it wasn't possible because of their schedule," said Mexican head coach Arturo Guerrero.

Meanwhile Argentinean national team head coach, Sergio Hernandez, has a lot of respect for the Caribbean teams because of their aggressiveness and served as a test to see how his team reacted.

"It served us to see what we can play and answer to things that we will see a lot in the FIBA Americas Championship, teams that impose more rhythm with a lot of space and we proved that we can play against them."

The Argentinean team arrives on Monday, August 17 to Puerto Rico where they expect guard Pablo Prigioni. Their next test is the Marchand Continental Championship Cup to be played on August 18-20 at Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot.

FIBA Americas