Cuba's great debut against the United States in men's basketball qualifying tournament

Havana, November 29 (RHC)-- The Cuban men's basketball team had a great debut against its U.S. counterpart in the "bubble" of Chihuahua, Mexico, where despite the 90-95 defeat, they made a very good impression.

In this duel, which is part of the first qualifying window for the 2023 World Cup, the Cuban team entered the court of the Gimnasio Auditorio Universitario without complexes and dominated the first quarter by a difference of 10 points (37-27).

After that excellent start, the Americans raised their level of play to win 33-16 in the second period, to go to the break with a favorable score of 60-53.

After the break, the team from the Caribbean nation was once again superior with a third quarter in favor of 24-13, but in the last segment they lost 13-22, being very close to a victory that would have given them a world tour against the representatives of the main power of that sport on the planet.

For the island team, Jasiel Rivero, who is a member of the Valencia Basket club of the Spanish League, assumed his leadership with an outstanding performance of 34 points and nine rebounds.

Rivero achieved a high efficiency of 76.92 percent in two-point shots, with 10 baskets in 13 attempts, in addition to making three of five from long distance, according to the official site of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

Along with him, Karel Guzmán (18) and Yoanki Mensía (12) scored double digits on offense; while for the Americans, Isaiah Thomas (21), BJ Johnson and Brian Bowen, both with 16 points, were outstanding.

Today, in its second presentation, the Cuban national team will face Puerto Rico at 3:30 p.m. (local time), which would be 5:30 p.m. here in the national territory.

The next windows of this round will be held in February and June-July 2022, to determine the 12 teams that will play the second phase from August next year.

After completing the six-match group stage, the top three teams from the preliminary stage in each bracket will be able to continue in the competition to secure one of the seven tickets from the Americas to the 2023 World Cup, scheduled to be held in the shared venues of Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan.