POSTED BY: Eurobasket News
J.J. Barea
Puerto Rico - Canada 74-63
Puerto Rico registered second straight win in Brazil. They outplayed Canada 74-63 for 2-0 record and will meet the host of Marchand Cup for the first place at this event. On the other side Canada dropped to 0-2. They will play against Dominican Republic for position No.3. Jose Juan Barea (181-PG-84, college: Northeastern) led Puerto Rico with 24 points and 5 assists. Alejandro Carmona (194-G/F-83) scored 11 points and Daniel Santiago (216-C-76, agency: Priority Sports, college: N.Mexico) helped with 10 points, plus 7 boards. In the loosing squad, Denham Brown (198-F-83, agency: Edge Sports, college: Connecticut) top-scored with 12 points. Carl English (192-G-81, college: Hawaii) stopped to one point less. Third quarter was the crucial one in this game. Puerto Rico blasted Canada in that period 31-15, what was enough for the victory. Before that Canada made 14-15 in the first and 16-17 in the second quarter. Last ten minutes also belonged to them (13-16), but they faced with 11-point loss due to very poor Q3. Marchand Cup ends today.
Dominican Republic - Brazil 64-70
Brazil outplayed Dominican Republic 70-64 for perfect 2-0 record in Marchand Cup. The host of this event will meet Puerto Rico today for the first place. Dominican Republic, who dropped to 0-2 after this meeting, will play against Canada to avoid last (4th) place in Marchand Cup. Marcelinho Huertas (191-PG-83, agency: Edge Sports) stepped up for the hosts with 16 points and 5 rebounds. Marcus Vinicius (207-F-84) and Guilherme Giovannoni (202-F-80, agency: Interperformances) followed him with 15 and 14 points respectively. Rafael Hettsheimeir (206-C-86) had 10 points for 12 minutes on the court. In Dominican Republic, Jack Michael Martinez (203-F/C-81, agency: Paris Global Sports) shined with double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds. Alfred Horford (208-F/C-86, college: Florida) had 12 points and 8 boards, while Francisco Garcia (201-F/G-81, college: Louisville) netted 11 pts. Dominican Republic opened this meeting better as they made 18-13 lead in the first ten minutes. However, Brazil totally took control on them in the second quarter. Marcelinho Huertas and his teammates drained 28 more point until the halftime, while Dominicans stopped to just 12. Brazil managed to keep its lead after the breather, despite the fact that third period belonged to Dominicans 16-11. Today is the last day of the Marchand Cup 2011.
