Photo taken from Valencia Basket Club's Facebook profile.

Havana, October 7 (JIT) - Power forward Jasiel Rivero made his debut on Thursday in the Euroleague Basketball League, the main tournament of that sport in Europe, and became the first Cuban to perform at that level contracted through the Cuban basketball federation.

The debut in the strongest tournament of the so-called Old Continent did not happen in the most desired way for the Havana native, as his team Valencia Basket lost to Saski Baskonia with a score of 81-71.

However, Rivero accumulated good numbers, especially on offense with 14 points and six rebounds.

For the winners, the counterpart of the Creole, the 2.11-meter tall Estonian center Maik Kostar, who scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds to be one catch away from a double-double, stood out.

Lithuanian Rokas Giedraitis seconded Kostar with 19 points, in addition to seven catches under the posts. American Darius Thompson stood out with 11 assists.

Despite the loss, Rivero took his first step in the top level of European basketball. It is worth mentioning that the 28-year-old center, who is 2.06 meters tall, qualifies as the first basketball player federated by Cuba with such merit. However, his compatriot Howard Sant-Roos, who has been living in Italy since he was 16 years old, did it before without links to the Cuban Basketball Federation.

Jasiel's next game will be on October 14 against the French ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, which also lost 62-69 to Olimpia Milano of Italy.