2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Day 2.

Dominican Republic 95 - Korea 85

Korea played with a sense of urgency right from the start, they lead by four after the first 20 minutes and even part of the third quarter, but Jack Michael Martinez had a monster game with 25 rebounds and 16 points, Al Horford dominated with 30 points (12 in the third) & 11 rebounds . Those big guys were just too much for Korea to contain. 

What this means: By losing to the Dominican Republic, Korea is now eliminated.  Dominican Republic will face off against Russia to see who will end up with the lead in their group, both teams are sure to advance to the quarterfinals regardless of the result. 


FYROM  84 - New Zealand 62

Bo McCaleb had 23 points, Pero Antic 17 & 10 and Macedonia took care of business early by defeating New Zealand by 22 points.  Macedonia lead every quarter by double figures, Alex Piedger lead New Zealand in scoring with 11 points.

What this means: After losing 88-84 to Angola on Monday, Macedonia did what they had to do, now their faith in the quarterfinals depends on Wednesday's New Zealand vs Angola game.


Puerto Rico 93 - Jordan  52 

Puerto Rico got off to a fast start, they lead 29-11 in the first quarter and Jordan never stood a chance.  Peter John Ramos dominated the inside with 20 points, 9-9 FG and 9 boards, Ricky Sanchez had 12 points, 7 rebounds & Alex Franklin had 10 points (including three spectacular dunks)  they didn't even needed big performances from Carlos Arroyo or JJ Barea.  Osama Daghles had 17 points for Jordan in the loss.

What this means:  Jordan is eliminated from the competition, Puerto Rico and Greece will advance to the quarterfinals and they will play on Wednesday to see who will take the group lead.


Lithuania 100 - Venezuela  82 

Lithuania dominated the game from start to finish,  the Lithuanians took a 49-36 lead at the break behind 19 points for Linas Kleiza, they lead by 16 at the end of three and ended up winning by 18.  Kleiza finished with 28 points, Greivis Vasquez had 28 for Venezuela.


What this means:  Lithuania can clinch an appearance in the quarterfinals by beating Nigeria on Wednesday  and also letting Venezuela advance as well, Nigeria will be eliminated by going 0-2.



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2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. July 2-8

The tournament to determine who will get the last three spots to compete in the London Olympics will start tomorrow and will be over by the eight, the location will be Caracas, Venezuela.  12 teams will be divided in  four different groups, each team will play all the other teams in its own group. Only two out of three teams in any group will advance to the quarterfinals, and after just 2 games, 4 teams will be out watching the rest at home.

The next phase will be similar to what the NCAA does in their tournament,  the eight teams that advanced from the first round will play against each other, four teams will advance, four will be eliminated.

Those four teams that won in the quarterfinals, will play a game and the two winners will go to London and the two losers are going to  battle for the third and Final ticket.


Group A
Greece
Puerto Rico
Jordan



Group B
Lithuania 
Venezuela
Nigeria



Group  C
Russia
Dominican Republic
Korea



Group D
FYROM
New Zealand
Angola



Memorable names playing:  Vassilis Spanoulis, Nick Calathes, Ioannis Bourousis, Carlos Arroyo, Renaldo Balkman, Jose Juan Barea, Jonas Valanciunas, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Linas Kleiza, Martynas Pocius, Greivis Vasquez, Andrei Kirilenko, Timofey Mozgov, Viktor Khryapa, Sasha Kaun, Alexey Shved, Al Horford, Jack Michael Martinez, Francisco Garcia, Pero Antic, & Bo McCalebb,

1st round Schedule:

7/2/12

Russia vs Korea

Greece vs Jordan

Angola vs Macedonia

Nigeria vs Venezuela

7/3/12

Korea vs Dominican Republic

Macedonia vs New Zealand

Jordan vs Puerto Rico 

Venezuela vs Lithuania

7/4/12

New Zealand vs Angola

Dominican Republic vs Russia

Lithuania vs Nigeria

Greece vs Puerto Rico 

Photo Credit: Raul Alzaga


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Puerto Rico starts the exhibition games with a victory.

Puerto Rico defeated Macedonia 96-77 in their first of two preparation games before the Fiba Qualifying Tournament in July. Jose Juan Barea had a double double (11 points, 10 assists), David Huertas and Alex Galindo scored 15 each and two recent additions, Renaldo Balkman and Nathan Peavy ( They didn't played in Centrobasket) joined the club and gave them a big spark at both ends.  The starting point guard, Carlos Arroyo, and his backup, Andres Rodriguez,weren't available. They expect to return tomorrow in the 2nd game against Macedonia.

Nathan Peavy Scored 12 points and 8 boards

Coach, Flor Melendez, was very impressed with his roster, they beat a good Macedonia team that had players like Bo McCalebb (13 pts, 5 assist) and Pero Antic ( 19 pts and 8 boards) but one player in particular that really impressed him was forward, Nathan Peavy. Melendez said Peavy is a a true power forward , a very underrated scorer, and will help them tremendously in that aspect and also in the rebound department, which they had been lacking.

Flor Melendez, coach of Puerto Rico.

Photo credit:  Jose L. Cruz Candelaria of Primera Hora

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Puerto Rico announced their roster for the 2012 Fiba Qualifying Tournament

David Huertas and Jose Juan Barea

Puerto Rico has a chance on making the London Olympics by playing in the 2012 Fiba Qualifying tournament in Caracas, Venezuela from July 2-8.   Head Coach Flor Melendez announced the 12 man roster that will be representing them.  Point guards Carlos Arroyo, Jose Juan Barea and Andres Rodriguez will be the ones handling the ball & creating offense.  Florida gator, Mike Rosario, will be joining the team for the first time at shooting guard, along with the up and coming David Huertas.  

Andres Rodriguez

Former Nugget & Knick Renaldo Balkman will play the power forward spot along with Nathan Peavy and  Ricky Sanchez.  Alex Galindo and Alex Franklin will be playing at the small forward spot and maybe some shooting guard as well, depending on the match up.  Daniel Santiago and Peter John Ramos are going to be the ones guarding the paint and playing the center position.

Peter John Ramos

Puerto Rico will start their preparation games on June 27 and 28 against Macedonia.  Flor Melendez is hopeful his team can finish in the top three and qualify for the Olympics, however, this isn't an easy task. Greece, Russia, Lithuania and Dominican Republic (behind John Calipari) seem to be a lot stronger and you can't never count the host (Venezuela) out.


Source:  El Nuevo Dia & Primera Hora


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2012 Centrobasket Gold medal game. Puerto Rico vs Dominican Republic

1st Quarter


4:00 -  After the first 6 minutes of the game, Puerto Rico has a 13-12 lead over Dominican Republic, David Huertas has 7 points, JJ Barea has 6 and they are the only two players that have scored for PR.  Juan Coronado scored the first 5 for Dominican Republic, Al Horford and Jack Michael Martinez have a basket each.

2:03 - Puerto Rico leads 16-13, Jose Juan Barea is penetrating at will and finding guys for open layups.  Francisco Garcia hasn't found his shot yet, he's 0-3.

1:23 - Edwin Ubiles had a monster slam. My goodness, giving PR a 6 point lead.

End of 1st -  Puerto Rico 21, Domimican Republic 14.

Leading Scorers:
JJ Barea 8 points, David Huertas 7  (PR)
Eulis Baez, Jose Coronado  5 (DR)

Field Goal shooting

10-17 FG (PR)
5-14  FG (DR)

2nd Quarter


6:49 - Mike Rosario begins the quarter by making a floater , Ricky Sanchez had a tip in and the lead is now 11 for Puerto Rico, However, Francisco Garcia heated up for 3 straight three pointers and the lead is down to 4.  27-23

The Dominican Republic went on a 17-5 run before JJ Barea's three pointer, made it 17-8.  Francisco Garcia woke up in a big way, scoring three triples in the quarter & Jack Michael Martinez (11 and 4 boards)  couldn't be stopped in the low block.  The Dominicans outscored the Puertoricans by 12 in the period


End of 2nd  - Dominican Republic 40, Puerto Rico 35.

 Halftime stats:

Puerto Rico
Jose Juan Barea 13 pts

Dominican Republic
Jack Michael Martinez   13 points
Francisco Garcia  9 points


3rd Quarter


9:16 -  A quick 5-0 for PR run tied the game & coach Calipari quickly called a timeout.

4:49 - Puerto Rico is holding a one point lead, 50-49.  Both teams have been erratic from the field, however, Jack Michael Martinez continues dominating the inside.

2:11 -  DR leds by 3, 55-52.   It's been a Jack Michael Martinez - Jose Juan Barea duel in the quarter so far.


End of 3rd - Dominican Republic 58, Puerto Rico 54

Jack Michael Martinez and Jose Juan Barea scored 6 points each in the quarter.

4th Quarter

8:03 -  Back two back baskets by Daniel Santiago is keeping PR in  the game, but Dominican Republic isn't missing many shots from the field and they are up 63-58.

5:00 - Dominican Republic leads 66-65

3:11 -  With Puerto Rico down two, JJ Barea found a trailing Ricky Sanchez on the break, but he was rejected emphatically by Al Horford.

2:44 - Juan Coronado hit a three and puts Dominican Republic up by 7 points.

53 Secs - PR is down 7, they tried making a comeback, but their dumb fouls at the end of the shot clock prevented that. Dominican Republic made all their free throws down the stretch and that was a big difference.


End of 4th Quarter - Dominican Republic 80, Puerto Rico 72.    Dominican Republic wins the 2012 Centrobasket.

Dominican Republic got some questionable call in the last quarter of the game, however, their execution and aggressiveness was way better than Puerto Rico and they deserved to get the win.

Final Stats

Dominican Republic
Jack Michael Martinez  23 points, 11 boards
Juan Coronado 17 points

Puerto Rico
Jose Juan Barea 18 points
Daniel Santiago 16 points
Ricky Sanchez 15 points

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