Brazil, Puerto Rico and USA seal qualification to FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments

EDMONTON (Canada) | BAHÍA BLANCA (Argentina) - The teams of Puerto Rico, USA and Brazil joined Canada as Americas representatives at the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2020, after earning victories during the last day of the Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Americas Tournaments.

Puerto Rico (2-1) earned its ticket to the next phase of the Qualification System to Tokyo 2020 after defeating Caribbean rival Cuba in an 83-81 thriller.

A basket from Jazmon Gwathmey gave the Puerto Ricans an 80-78 lead with a minute to play. The Cubans responded with a basket from Galindo to tie the score. Then, Ali Gibson stole the ball and scored a lay-up to open the difference on the scoreboard to four points with 40 seconds left. Cuba couldn’t catch-up and Jennifer O’Neill secured the win and qualification for the Boricuas from the free-throw line.

Pamela Rosado led the Puerto Rican attack with 17 points. Gwathmey added 15 points with seven rebounds, center Sabrina Lozada had herself a 14 point and 14 rebound “double-double”.

Canada (3-0) closed its participation in Edmonton with a 110-60 win over the Dominican Republic (0-3).

All members of the Canadian team added points to the scoreboard and six players achieved double digits. Sami Hill was the most prominent with 16 units. She was followed by Shaina Pellington (14), Jamie Scott (13), Bridget Carleton (13), Ruth Hamblin (11) and Natalie Achonwa (11).

At the Dow Center in Bahía Blanca, USA (3-0) dominated Colombia (1-2) 104-48, to take the top of Group B.

The team coached by Cheryl Reeve controlled all facets of the game with their physical advantages and collective attack. A’ja Wilson shined with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Arike Ogunbowale and Diamond De Shields added 17 points each.

Finally, Brazil (2-1) defeated archrival Argentina (0-3) 77-55 and took the last available ticket to the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2020.

The first 10 minutes of the match were even, but in the second quarter, the Brazilian team took control of the boards and executed in offense to take the reins of the game. Brazil kept adding to the difference on the scoreboard with good effectiveness in long-distance shots (10 of 18 in three-pointers). In the last quarter, the team coached by José Neto did not slow down and celebrated the win.

Damiris Dantas was the best performer for Brazil with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Tainá Paixao added 16 points.

FIBA