OQTM – Arroyo: Our heads are in the right place
CARACAS (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) – Puerto Rico star Carlos Arroyo continues his chat about his team’s chances of progressing to the London Olympics. Do you feel you have to make up for missing out on qualifying for the Beijing Olympics? It is what it is, we weren’t there in 2008, we couldn’t do it, but hopefully ...
Carlos Arroyo interview part 2 (read part 1 here)
CARACAS (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) – Puerto Rico star Carlos Arroyo continues his chat about his team’s chances of progressing to the London Olympics.
FIBA: Do you feel you have to make up for missing out on qualifying for the Beijing Olympics?
Arroyo: It is what it is, we weren’t there in 2008, we couldn’t do it, but hopefully this time we can take this opportunity and take care of business. We won’t take this opportunity for granted, a lot of people would like to be in this situation.
FIBA: You had a long and hard season with Besiktas in Turkey, is the body tired or are you primed to go?
Arroyo: This is my third practice with the team today. I came back and I was 10 days in Miami, I hadn’t seen my family for the last three months of the season, so when I came back I wanted to see my daughters and spend time with my wife, to me that was more important, my family has always been number one, and they have always supported me when I go to international summers.
I came back to Puerto Rico and did a shoot-around and I was going to play against (the Former Republic of) Macedonia but I got a virus and couldn’t move. Then we flew here and I’ve just started practicing with the team. I thought I would feel more tired (against Jordan) but I felt great.
FIBA: Have all the finals you played with Besiktas prepared you well for the possession-by-possession game in this tournament?
Arroyo: Right. Any good competitive experience will prepare you for the next one. It matures me as a player, helps me to be poised in times of pressure and to be patient. I turn 33 this month, if I haven’t learned from my experience in big games then I don’t know what I’ve done in my career!
FIBA: Finally, how does this Puerto Rican team rank compared to others you have played on?
Arroyo: One of the best. We’ve always had great players, we have not always been lucky in all the qualifiers making every tournament and becoming the great team everyone expects us to be.
But I think this is a great team, our heads are in the right place and we are committed to winning. We all understand that if we do this right we are going to get a great opportunity.
FIBA