Puerto Rico beats Bahamas to qualify for the 2022 AmeriCup

The Puerto Rico national team qualified for the 2022 AmeriCup on Saturday after returning against the Bahamas and winning 102-96 in the third and final FIBA ​​qualifying window at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum.

The national team closed the window phase with a 3-3 record to score their ticket to the continental tournament in Group D along with Mexico (2-4) and the United States (6-0). Bahamas (1-5) was eliminated despite their big effort.

“It was a big win because we qualified. We were lost and we did what we had to do, which was to win the last two games here ”, manager Eddie Casiano responded after the meeting.

Guard Gian Clavell again led the Puerto Ricans’ attack with 26 points. José Juan Barea also had 26 points with eight assists and seven rebounds, and rookie Shabazz Napier finished with 22.

For the Bahamians, Mychel Thompson, brother of NBA Golden State Warriors member Klay Thompson, was the best with 21 points.

Puerto Rico’s next commitment is the Olympic rematch to be played in Belgrade, Serbia from June 29.

Overwhelmed by the speed of the Bahamas, Puerto Rico entered the last quarter 79-70. Before starting the period, Casiano tried to cheer the squad up with qualification on the line. The motivational conversation worked and Clavell cooled his blood again and put the team on his shoulders by scoring eight runs in the comeback to tie the game to 84 with a triple assisted by Barea} with 6:53 minutes of action too to go.

He had to tell us something, ”Barea responded to Casiano’s message to make the comeback happen.

“We were in a bad position at the time and he had to motivate us. We made the adjustments, we played zone and we played a smart offense that got us the win. All credit to the Bahamas for playing very well and it was a good game, “he added.

A technical foul against Bahamian coach Mario Bowleg saw Barea score a free kick for the 89-88 lead and the Puerto Ricans never looked back. They took off with a 7-0 run, with a triple by Napier and a basket by Barea, to secure the painful standings after taking over the fourth period 32-15.

As Puerto Rico expected for the game, the Bahamans came out of the first serve aggressively, hitting four 3-pointers in 10 tries to close the score in the first minutes of action.

An awkward güira from D’Shon Taylor in penetration against Ramón Clemente pulled the free kick for the visitors and won 20-19 with 20 seconds to go from the first set. Barea then lowered the ball and felt pressure from Domnick Bridgewater, who demanded contact with one of the referees.

Seeing they didn’t hear his claim, Barea annoyedly threw the ball behind the goal and hit the shot as the chichara sounded for the Puerto Ricans to move forward 22-20. on the way to the second period. Clavell had six runs in the fourth.

Barea, captain of the team, committed a technical foul from the second set, a foul that took him to the bench to prevent accumulation. His departure allowed Napier to take over the attack, scoring 14 points in the first half after making his debut for the national team with 13 points in victory over Mexico.

Bahamas continued to hunt, but triples followed by Napier and Clavell, also with 14 in the first half, left Puerto Rico 52-45 with 48 seconds to go in the second period. A Kentwan Smith bomb left the Bahamians close to 52-48 on the board at halftime.

The Puerto Rican’s goal was effective as they hit eight triples in 14 tries, in addition to running off the field with 15 points in transition games against three of the island’s rivals.

The Bahamas came back deadly from the break, and they ran a 7-0 run to take the 55-52 lead. From then on, both teams went from you to you, exchanging baskets and strikers, forgetting defense, with Barea as the protagonist on the local side. Travis Munnings and Jaron Cornish had back-to-back baskets and the Bahamas had their longest lead 71-66 with three minutes to go.

The Bahamas eventually won the 31-18 quarter and took a dangerous 79-70 flight towards the last quarter.