Puerto Rico 2009 – First Entry: Arroyo lets fans go bezerk

[by Kris SANTIAGO] - Hola! This is my first blog out of the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan and I hope to give you as often as possible an inside on what’s going on in this year’s FIBA Americas Tournament. When I started my journey to San Juan, I met Nigerian national-team player Gabe Muoneke in Frankfurt while waiting for my plane to depart to Miami.

He updated me on the African Championships and how things went for his D’Tigers and how he felt about the refs. After a refreshing chat, I made my way to Miami where I spent some days before finally departing to San Juan on the 25th. Coincidence or not, Adam Parada was on the plane and I approached him while waiting for my cab to appear on the airport in San Juan. First, I was not even sure if it’s him, as the Mexican team arrived a few days earlier.

"El Brawl“  and Najera were the topics we spoke about, and he told me about the possible sanctions that could be ruled on his teammates and seemed not all to be happy when I asked him about Najera’s absence. I also saw a scout with a worn-out Atlanta Hawks polo…guess he will be checking on Al Horford’s doings in Puerto Rico while having some beer and rum.

After enjoying the beach in Condado, I took a cab after waiting almost an hour for the public bus to appear. Waiting in the sun without a slim chance to find a shady place, I almost felt like a steak on a grill…
But luckily, the Media accreditation at the coliseo went fast and I got my seat in the upper section of the Coliseo Roberto Clemente, so I was able
to sit down and enjoy the tournament.

First game was not what you would call a thriller when Uruguay dwarfed the Virgin Islanders by 26 points. The food they sold downstairs was good though and plenty and the smell of the chuletas might reached the players of the Virgin Islands as they boosted up their game in the third quarter to bounce back but weakened during the fourth when I was finished with my meal in the stands…coincidence?

I mean, the president of the basketball federation of the British Virgin Islands, Guy Malone, had the same menu and slightly enjoyed…maybe the players needed a bit of the food to hit their shots which often went in-and-out against Uruguay.

Five NBA players on the court in the Dominican Republic – Brazil match-up. Francisco Garcia can’t miss while Leandrinho scores off fast breaks. Villanueva is stone cold but gets his when Dominicans rally in the third.
But with the refs not being focused on calling properly, the game looks quite weird at times as calls are disturbing the flow. Then Villanueva and Horford foul out and the game is over for the aspiring Dominicanos. Alex Garcia is the man of the match in my eyes as he scored when needed the most and kept Brazil on top. Now the Dominicans need a strong game against Panama to bounce back into the tournament, but I’m sure they get the same
support from the ranks like today, so it does not look too shady for them right now.

The surprise of the day was delivered by Venezuela who killed Argentina thanks to the leadership of Greivis Vasquez and veterans Hector Romero and Oscar Torres who scored at will, while holding off Argentina’s attempts to find back into the game. Luis Scola was the only one from the azulgrana who reacted while the rest of the bunch gave up early on. Looks like we got an early applicant for a wild card for Turkey 2010…what do you think?

Finally, Puerto Rico was in the house when Arroyo, Ayuso and the rest of the team stepped on the court. That’s what I call home-advantage! Fans were loud as hell every time he Boricuas excelled on the court and believe me, there were a lot of highlight-plays to admire.

Still, there was Romel Beck, who thought otherwise and silenced the crowd a couple of times when Mexico was able to find it‘way into the game to lead surprisingly at half-time 42-38. Guess Manolo Cintron went AWOL inside the locker-room as Puerto Rico stepped up big in the third to re-gain the lead and never looked back. Beck, who had a great first half, disappointed in the second, throwing airballs and a lot of contested shots. Arroyo on the other hand showed his greatness and delivered when needed. Larry Ayuso raised his arms to form an „X“ every time he scored and this happened often after the break. In the end, the hosts played great defense to turn the game around and to win it 81-66 to close the first day of action.

You can find all box scores right here.

That’s it for now. More to come, so check back frequently for updates!

I’m out like public transportation systems.