After Puerto Rico’s 33-point loss to Brazil in the first round of the Pan American Games in Toronto on Tuesday, it was no surprise that a similar result came at the hands of the United States the next day, 102-70.
Team USA, which is helmed by Gonzaga head coach Mark Few and features an assistant coaching core including Colorado head coach Tad Boyle, put forth a dominant effort. Once again, Chinese professional Bobby Brown and Puerto Rican professional (ironically) Damien Wilkins shined, with each scoring 16 and 15 points respectively. This time, however, they received a little extra help from Michigan State University guard Denzel Valentine, who contributed 15 points of his own.
Throughout the contest, the United States sunk an impressive 50 percent of their field goals while grabbing a collective 53 rebounds. Puerto Rico, on the other hand, could not get anything going on offense or defense. They only managed to shoot 30 percent while securing only 39 rebounds.
Virtually from start to finish Team USA maintained complete control, trailing Puerto Rico for only the first three minutes of the game. By the end of the first quarter, the score read 29-19 in favor of the U.S., and the team never looked back.
The scoring tangent continued well into the second quarter, as red, white, and blue dropped 36 points to dwarf Puerto Rico’s 10. After the half, they would have needed a miracle to overcome the American’s 65-29 lead.
But there were no angels in the backcourt for the Caribbean natives. No matter how hard they fought back in the second half, Puerto Rico couldn’t muster up enough baskets to close the gap.
By the end of the night, the United States sealed another solid victory, 102-70.
With the victory, the USA, now 2-0, is guaranteed to advance to the medal round semifinals later this week. But first, they’ll have to take on Brazil as they complete preliminary round play on Thursday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. MST.
In a USA Basketball news release, USA Head Coach Mark Few called Brazil its “biggest test yet,” as they excel in both defense and offense, much like his own team.
Contact CU Independent Assistant Sports Editor Alissa Noe at alissa.noe@colorado.edu and follow her on twitter at @crazysportgirl1.
