United States, led by 26 points from Justin Jackson, defeated this Friday to Puerto Rico in San Juan, 81-83, in the first match of the third window of Group D of the Americas region qualifying for the World Cup in 2023.
The first period of the match started evenly between both teams until a triple by Quinn Cook, put the United States with a comfortable advantage of 8-16. However, Puerto Rico, counting on point guard José Alvarado, of the New Orleans Pelicans, achieved an advance of 10-0 and put the marker in your favor, 18-16.
United States, which has NBA G players on most of its roster League, regained the lead thanks to a triple by John Jenkins to dominate the opening period, 18-21. The American roster hit five of the 3-pointers from all the game in this first period.
The triples continued to be the offensive key for the United States, because after one of these baskets by Jackson, he extended the North American advantage to 22-27, causing the Puerto Rican coach Nelson Colón to ask for time.
Puerto Rico, meanwhile, managed to get within two points a couple of times with a couple of baskets in a row, one by George Conditt and another by Gian Clavell. But another 3-pointer by the Americans, this time by Jordan Bell to close out the first half of the game, extended the visitors’ lead by 37-42.
The third period, however, was totally dominated by the United States. Of the first 10 points scored in this part, four they were triples, two of them by Jackson, including the fourth that gave his team the biggest advantage of the match (16 points) up to that point. 42-60, subtracting 4: .
This led the Puerto Rican coach Colón to ask for time. In this part of the game, Puerto Rico suffered a scare when point guard José Alvarado fell heavily, complaining of pain in his left leg and leaving the game for several minutes.
The United States, which closed the third period dominated by 51-66, he continued his dominance towards the last part of the challenge.
In the last period, Puerto Rico tried to recover on several occasions and the closest they could get was with a triple by Alvarado, almost finishing the challenge, 60-81, but it was not enough.
With the victory, the United States improves its record to 5-1, while Puerto Rico sees its record drop to 2-3.
The next match for the United States in this third window will be on Monday against Cuba at the Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum in Havana, while Puerto Rico’s will also be on Monday against Mexico in San Juan.
Also read:
– Mexican Juan Toscano-Anderson said goodbye to the champions Golden State and is excited to play in the Lakers with LeBron James
– Bombshell in the NBA: Kevin Durant requested to be traded from Brooklyn Nets
– Scandal: Charlotte Hornets Star Miles Bridges Arrested for Alleged Felony Domestic Violence