FIBA Americas Women - Comeback queens Puerto Rico stun Argentina
XALAPA (FIBA Americas Championship for Women/FIBA World Championship for Women) - Crushed by Brazil in their first outing and then trailing by double-digits against Argentina on Day 2, the medal and 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women dreams of Puerto Rico were ebbing away inside a potentially fatal first 48 hours in Xalapa.
However, Omar Gonzalez and his team dug deep and showed remarkable resilience as they breathed considerable life back into their prospects by leaving Argentina shell-shocked with a stunning late show to claim a thrilling 85-79 Group B success.
A spellbinding 14-2 finish turned the game on its head, as Puerto Rico made it three wins in three games against their opponents in recent times, having also beaten them twice during preparation for the tournament.
Jazmine Sepulveda and Sandra Garcia were the game-winners, both racking up superb double-doubles by scoring 24 points each, with the former pulling down 13 rebounds and the latter claiming 10 boards.
The duo also scored the last 16 points of the game for their team to get the job done down the stretch.
Ornella Santana was on fire for Argentina and accumulated 20 points from six of seven shooting, but it was not sufficient in denying Puerto Rico a fabulous win and ensuring both teams moved to 1-1 for the competition.
Also in Group B, Brazil made it two wins in as many days by dismantling Dominican Republic 107-43.
It was a memorable night for Nadia Colhado, who weighed in with 17 points and 13 rebounds, whilst Tatiane Nascimiento and Patricia Ribeiro did great work from long-range, dropping a combined six triples.
Brazil were rampant from tip-off to final buzzer, racing into a 27-11 first quarter lead and then choking the Dominican Republic offense in the second period by holding them to just six points to take complete control and romp to victory.
Escarlin Mosquete was the only player to make it to double-figures for the losing side with 10 points.
There was also a comprehensive success for Canada as they made their debut in Group A.
After initially feeling their way into their opener, they threw a defensive blanket over Jamaica in the second half, restricting them to a meagre 12 points to take an impressive 75-37 victory.
A first major tournament success for head coach Lisa Thomaidis always looked likely, even if the Jamaicans were pesky enough to hang around in the first 20 minutes of action and managing to stay within eight points heading to the locker room.
But they couldn't breach the Canadian defense as the winning team slipped through the gears after the interval, led by Kim Gaucher who had 15 points. Although it was the all-round team play and absolute dominance on the glass which proved to be the biggest difference.
Veteran player-coach Simone Edwards led the way with 12 points in defeat.
Finally, Cuba remained undefeated as they produced an excellent 85-59 win against Chile, who are still searching for their first victory.
Yamara Amargo and Leidys Oquendo combined for 38 points in a game which Cuba always held upper hand, despite 24 points and 11 rebounds from Ziomara Morrison.
Cuba got on the front foot early and ahead 43-26 at the midway point of the game, never looked in any danger of relinquishing their grip – and so it proved.
The Cubans will now feel they have a great chance to make it three wins from three games when they go up against Venezuela in their next game, although their opponents are also unbeaten too.
For full and in-depth coverage of the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship for Women, go to the official website http://www.xalapa2013.com/.
