BAHAMAS QUALIFIES FOR SEMIFINALS; PUERTO RICO DEBUTS WITH VICTORY

Jul 04, 2024

The Bahamas basketball team defeated Poland 90-81 in the second day of the Olympic Basketball Qualifying Tournament being held in Valencia, Spain, to finish the preliminary phase as leader of Group B undefeated in two games, and next Saturday will be playing the semifinals of that bracket.

Buddy Hield accumulated a double-double with 17 points and 10 assists, to lead the island team to victory, also added six rebounds, two steals and a block, accompanied by VJ Edgecombe who had 21 points and six boards, while DeAndre Ayton had 18 points with nine rebounds, and Eric Gordon finished the day with 12 points and five assists.

The Bahamas must now wait for the team that finishes second in Group A, which is made up of Spain, Angola and Lebanon, which will be their game next Saturday.

PUERTO RICO DEBUTS WITH A WIN IN FRONT OF ITS HOME CROWD

The Puerto Rican national team debuted on Wednesday night with a 99-56 victory over Bahrain in the closing of the second day of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament being played at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, better known as “El Choliseo”, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The locals took control of the game from the jump, after dominating 19-4 in the first quarter, and left the Asian team with no weapons.

Stephen Thompson Jr. led five men in double figures with 20 points, followed by George Conditt IV, who added 17 points with eight rebounds, Jordan Howard had 13 and four assists, while Christopher Ortiz had 11 and Aleem Ford, 10.

For coach Nelson Colón, it was an expected start and he gave credit to the players for recognizing which adjustments to make to find the rhythm of the game they sustained during practices.

“I think the emotions were high, we started a little slow offensively, but very well on defense,” were the first words of the coach to the media in the mixed zone.

The Puerto Ricans will have this Thursday a big match against Italy, scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at “El Choli”, a team with which they will define the leadership of Group B for the semifinals, where the winner will also avoid Lithuania in Saturday’s match.

OTHER RESULTS

A summary of the four qualifying tournaments on their second day will follow shortly:

Piraeos, Greece
Croatia
New Zealand
86
90
Dominican Republic
Greece
82
109
 
Valencia, Spain
Bahamas
Poland
90
81
Spain
Angola
89
81
 
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Lithuania
Côte d’Ivoire
97
93
Bahrain
Puerto Rico
56
99
 
Riga, Letonia
Montenegro
Cameroon
70
66
Latvia
Philippines
80
89

MATCHES ON THURSDAY, JULY 4

On the third date of the four qualifying tournaments in men’s basketball, there are a total of eight matches; here are the details:

Piraeos, Greece
New Zealand
Slovenia
10:30 a.m. (ET)
Greece
Egypt
2:00 p.m. (ET)
 
Valencia, Spain
Angola
Lebanon
11:30 a.m. (ET)
Poland
Finland
2:30 p.m. (ET)
 
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Côte d’Ivoire
Mexico
5:30 p.m. (ET)
Puerto Rico
Italy
8:30 p.m. (ET)
 
Riga, Latvia
Philippines
Georgia
8:30 a.m. (ET)
Cameroon
Brazil
12:00 p.m. (ET)

Written by Noel Werleman

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