SAN JUAN (Puerto Rico) - The 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico, will see another chapter of an old Latin American rivalry when Puerto Rico and Mexico go head-to-head at Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot.
The two countries have a rich and intertwined history and their veterans have seen plenty of each other throughout the years.
Key matchup
The point guard battle between Jose Alvarado and Paul Stoll is the quintessential generational clash.
The 26-year-old New Orleans Pelicans guard came off the bench to drop 29 points in Puerto Rico's historic win against Italy that set this fascinating Semi-Finals bracket.
Meanwhile, the 38-year-old Stoll had 23 points and 11 assists in Mexico's win over Côte d'Ivoire that allowed them to advance out of Group A.
X-factors
The paint presents another explosive duel with Joshua Ibarra and George Conditt IV emerging as key contributors for their teams.
The 29-year-old Ibarra is leading the tournament in points per game (20.0) and efficiency (25.0) while sitting second in rebounds (8.5) and 10th in assists (3.5). He shot 59.3 percent from the field across his 2 games and is also averaging 1.5 blocks.
Conditt IV isn't far behind at 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and a block per game.
Stats don't lie
Puerto Rico and Mexico have nearly identical statistical profiles this week.
The islanders have a small edge in points scored (89.5 vs. 88), but Mexico is shooting slightly better from the floor (50.7 percent vs. 50) and long distance (38 percent vs. 37.3).
Mexico has a 45-40 edge in assists, but also one more turnover (30 vs. 29). Puerto Rico has a 16-13 advantage in steals, while Mexico has one more block (7 vs. 6).
The boards do favor Puerto Rico by a better margin (44 vs. 39.5 per game).
Past matchups
Puerto Rico has a 13-9 lead in head-to-head games after winning three of the last four.
The most recent matchups were during the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers, with the islanders winning 97-87 in San Juan and Mexico prevailing 90-86 in Chihuahua.
They said
"I will take these 24 (hours) to be happy and proud of everything that happened, but we have practice tomorrow. Now we know we’ll go against Mexico. It’s going to be a battle. It’ll be a war. We’ve had a rivalry for a lot of years and we have to know this team of Mexico maybe doesn’t have the big names, but they have warriors. They have players who give 100 percent for 40 minutes. We have to match their intensity and desire. We have to stay humble and hungry, and try to do our best." - Nelson Colon, Puerto Rico head coach
"It’s a rivalry. Rivalries come with a lot of intensity. We know each other very well. We’re going to come out and do the same, play Puerto Rico basketball. Play tough, control the boards and come out victorious." - Christopher Ortz, Puerto Rico power forward
"At this point this late in the Olympic Qualifiers, nothing's going to come easy. You saw that today. A great team, physical team that played Lithuania to the wire is going hom and with these tournaments that's how it is. You watch the other brackets in Europe and great teams are going home after one bad minute. A bad half and you're going home. So (we’re) lucky we have the chance Saturday. Obviously Puerto Rico has unbelievable talent. An incredible team at home and this atmosphere is going to be crazy with their home court advantage. Italy's Italy. They have top players in Europe and the NBA.So it's not going to be easy." - Paul Stoll, Mexico point guard
"The two teams are going to be hard, especially Puerto Rico here with all their fans. It's gonna be tough. And Italy, you know, they're really good. Like Paul said, they have great talent. Most of the guys play in the Euro League and the other guys play in the NBA." - Omar Quintero, Mexico head coach
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