PUR/CAM – Puerto Rico edge Cameroon to reach last eight

ATHENS (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men) – Puerto Rico held off Cameroon 81-72 to reach the quarter-finals of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The Puerto Ricans survived a dazzling display by Harding Nana, who scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds but saw his side crash out of the tournament after a second successive defeat.

The team from the FIBA Americas led by as many as 21 points but Cameroon, just as they had on opening day against Croatia, battled back to threaten a major upset in the fourth quarter only to fall just short.

Parfait Bitee, the nephew of Cameroon coach Lazare Adingono, made consecutive baskets – the second a three-pointer – to trim Puerto Rico’s lead to 65-59 with 6:45 left.

Nana followed with a strong move in the paint to make it 65-61.

Puerto Rico’s Jose Barea replied with a three-pointer, but Cameroon refused to go away.

With 1:40 remaining, the Africans’ bench exploded with cheers when a Nana jump shot closed the gap to 70-67.

Puerto Rico’s veteran guard Larry Ayuso went to the other end and immediately buried one of his three three-pointers from the left corner and Manolo Cintron’s team held on.

Ricky Sanchez led a balanced Puerto Rico scoring attack with 17 points

Puerto Rico hit 13 of 27 from behind the arc, with Barea (13pts), Carlos Arroyo (16), Sanchez and Ayuso (15) each nailing three.

Puerto Rico take on Croatia on Wednesday to decide the winner of Group D.

FIBA