Puerto Rico candidates for Centrobasket and OQT named
SAN JUAN (Centrobasket/2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) - Puerto Rico have made official their preliminary squad for the upcoming Centrobasket and FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Belgra
SAN JUAN (Centrobasket/2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) - Puerto Rico have made official their preliminary squad for the upcoming Centrobasket in Panama and FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Belgrade with plenty of familiar names included.
Among them are veteran guards Carlos Arroyo and Jose Barea, and giant center Peter John Ramos, a player that hasn't featured for the Boricuas since the 2012 OQT in Caracas. Training camp is already underway although players like Arroyo, who is playing for Barcelona in the Spanish Liga Endesa play-offs, will not arrive until after his domestic commitments.
| Puerto Rico 25-player preliminary squad for 2016 Centrobasket Championship |
|||
| Alex Abreu | Carlos Arroyo | Renaldo Balkman | Jose Juan Barea |
| Richard Chaney | Ramon Clemente | Devon Collier | Guillermo Diaz |
| Jorge Bryan Diaz | Cliff Duran | Carlos Emory | Alexander Franklin |
| Alexander Galindo | Christopher Gaston | Javier Gonzalez | David Huertas |
| Carlos “Yao” Lopez | Matthew Lopez | Shabazz Napier | William Orozco |
| Peter John Ramos | Michael Rosario | Ricardo Sanchez | Benito Santiago |
| Angel Vassallo | |||
Shabazz Napier of the Orlando Magic is in the squad but apparently will not be involved. The new president of the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation, Yum Ramos, said to elnuevodia.com: "Napier is not going to participate with the national team. He decided not to... Apparently, he has some training in the west of the United States and isn't able to take part with the national team.
"And we are not going to beg anyone. We are going with those players that are committed to represent the country."
Puerto Rico finished fifth at the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship to claim the last place on offer at the event for the OQT field.
Their top player at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Barea, was also the leading figure in last year's team.
The Boricuas will play in the OQT in Belgrade against Serbia and Angola in Group A and then potentially face France, New Zealand or the Philippines in a Semi-Final. The Semi-Final winners will square off with a spot at the Olympics at stake.
The Boricuas have not played at an Olympics since 2004, when Arroyo and Ramos were members of the team. The new coach of Puerto Rico, Eddie Casiano, was also a player in that side that played at the Athens Games.
FIBA