Looking back: the thriller between Puerto Rico and Argentina at the World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers

MIAMI (United States) - As the third window of the Americas Qualifiers for the FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup 2023 approaches, we take a look back at one amazing game from the 2019 World Cup Qualifiers.

That game was between Puerto Rico and Argentina, where Puerto Rico emerged victorious with an exciting 87-86 overtime win at home.

 

Agustin Caffaro and Nicolas Brussino led Argentina on a 21-8 run in the final 4:35 of the fourth quarter to tie the game up at 82 heading to overtime. Caffaro and Brussino scored 6 points (out of his 16 total points) and 5 points (out of his 9 total points), respectively, over those final few minutes of regulation.

After Caffaro made 1-of-2 free-throws to give Argentina an 86-84 lead with less than a minute left in overtime, John Holland came down on the next possession and sunk a three-pointer giving Puerto Rico an 87-86 lead with 22 seconds. (See the shot above in the game highlights video starting at the 1:04 mark)

Argentina went for the win, but big man Jorge Bryan Diaz blocked Marcos Delia's shot attempt under the basket. (See the block above in the game highlights video starting at the 1:14 mark)

Just when the game was believed to be over and confetti had fallen on the court, the referees ruled that there were 0.7 seconds left to play and that Argentina would retain the ball because the replay showed that Puerto Rican player Carlos Rivera recovered the rebound while he was out of bounds.

The game was paused for more than 10 minutes while the confetti was cleaned up.

Once they finally got the all-clear to resume play, Lucio Redivo missed a three-point shot from the right side, meaning that Puerto Rico had officially won the closely contested match. (See the final missed shot above in the game highlights video starting at the 1:24 mark)

"It was a crazy game. We're not pleased with the result, but we're proud of what we did," stated then-Argentina head coach Sergio Hernandez. "I didn't understand what was going on, if the game had finished, if the possession was theirs."

"It was a very fought game. You see a young Argentina, but they're a very structured team and that's the way to play. We paid the price," said a relieved Eddie Casiano, the then-head coach for Puerto Rico, after they let a 10-point advantage slip away with 1:35 remaining on the clock.

While Puerto Rico and Argentina won't face each other this time around in the World Cup 2023 Qualifiers, some of the players that played in the 2019 Qualifiers have played for their respective country in the first two completed windows.

Puerto Rico has three players and Argentina has six, and those players are listed below:

Puerto Rico

Gary Browne (two games played, 11.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.0 APG, 2.5 SPG) Javier Mojica (two games played, 12.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.5 SPG) Devon Collier (one game played, 10.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 5.0 APG) [/unordered]

Argentina

Marcos Mata (four games played, 8.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.5 APG) Nicolas Brussino (two games played, 13.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.0 APG) Marcos Delia (two games played, 9.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.5 BPG) Nicolas Aguirre (two games played, 1.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.0 SPG) Federico Aguerre (two games played, 1.5 RPG, 1.0 APG) Carlos Schattmann (one game played, 5.0 PPG) [/unordered]

Of those six players, only Brussino and Delía have been named to Argentina's preliminary roster for the team's two games in the third window, on June 30 and July 3. Browne and Mojica have been called back for Puerto Rico, which will play on July 1 and 4.

FIBA