Ayuso still standing

SAN JUAN (2015 FIBA Americas Championship) - Following a 96-91 win over the Dominican Republic in their second outing at the 2015 Jenaro "Tuto" Marchand Continental Cup, Puerto Rico head coach Rick Pitino had nothing but praise for veteran Larry Ayuso.

"Larry is now not only a great shooter, but he's becoming a great defender," he said.

"[He is] A great leader and a great example for the younger players.

"He is the only player that from the beginning I said will not be cut from the team, due to his work ethic and dedication," added the American coach.

Ayuso, now 38 years old, first made a splash with the Puerto Rico National team back in the 2002 FIBA Basketball World Cup where he averaged 18.8 points per game. He was also part of the last team to make it to the Olympic Games back in 2004.

The sharp-shooter, who has been averaging an impressive 71.4 percent from three-point range during the Tuto Marchand Cup, gives credit to his coach and the confidence he has instilled in him to be a leader of the team that will travel to Mexico on Friday to play in the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship.

I'm 38 years old but I'm still here working hard and competing with the youngsters, showing the importance of playing for Puerto Rico. - Ayuso

"I always try to leave everything on the court. Tonight we worked as a team and that's the important thing," said the 1.88m guard, who had 16 points in the Boricuas' win over rivals Dominican Republic on Monday.

That desire to work was what Pitino saw in the veteran from the beginning.

"First time I came here I told him 'You don't have to come to the workout, you are in the middle of your season [in the Puerto Rican league] and I know what you can do', but he told me he wanted to work out and he came in and gave us hard a one-hour long workout, diving for loose balls and everything," said Pitino.

"A friend said to me 'Cutting the team down to 12 is not going to be easy, you might have to cut Ayuso' and I told him 'As long as I'm the head coach of the team, he will be in that 12'. He is an important leader to this national team." 
 
Puerto Rico are back in Tuto Marchand Cup action on Wednesday, going up against undefeated Canada.

The team will play in Group B of the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship along with Argentina, Canada, Cuba and Venezuela.

Puerto Rico will be aiming to reach the Final of the tournament to clinch a spot to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

Go to fibaamericas.com/tuto2015/ for complete coverage of the 2015 Tuto Marchand Cup and to fiba.com/Americas2015 for full coverage of the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship. 

FIBA