Puerto Rico celebrates success over the USA in the 1989 Tournament of the Americas – from:fiba.com
Article by Giovanni Manenti
It has everything beginning in mid-June 1989, when the fourth edition of the “Tournament of the Americas”an event founded in 1980 under the aegis of FIBA (Federation Internationale de Basket) and which, for the first time, the United States also participatesfresh from the semifinal defeat against the Soviet Union at the 1988 Seoul Olympics…
In the previous three reviews, success had come to Puerto Rico, the organizing country in the inaugural edition, and then to Brazil in 1984 and 1988, in the latter case beating the Caribbean team 101-92 in the Finalin whose country basketball, understood as a team sport, is second only to baseball.
Il Tournament that starts on June 8, 1989 in Mexico City – and in which therefore the USA and Canada take part representing North America, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico for Central America and the Caribbean and Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay and Venezuela representing South America – not it is also an end in itself, since qualifies the top five classified at the Iridata Exhibition scheduled for the following year in Argentina …
For the occasion, the United States fields a team, obviously still made up of players from the NCAA Tournamentwhich includes anyway future NBA stars such as Gary Payton (Olympic Gold in 1996 and 2000), Antonio Davis, Matt Bullard, Billy Owens e Doug Smithas well as 20-year-old Christian Laettner, one of the best prospects in college basketball at the time.
With the 12 teams divided into two groups of six teams each, Puerto Rico is included in Group A together with the United States, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico and Panama, Tournament that opens with the surprising defeat of the USA against the Dominican Republic by 116-108, even if then the quintet coached by Coach Bobby Cremins redeems itself by stringing together four consecutive victories, including the 105-92 win over Puerto Rico which, in turn, beats the Dominican Republic 101-73 in the last round so that all three teams finish on equal points, but the points difference rewards the Puerto Ricans compared to Americans…
On the other The two-time reigning champion Brazil emerges unbeaten in the group, with Venezuela, Canada and Argentina also qualifyingso that the quarterfinal pairings include Puerto Rico-Argentina, Brazil-Cuba, United States-Canada and Venezuela-Dominican Republic, challenges that allow the Brazil to continue (104-89) on its immaculate pathwhile the The USA narrowly wins (75-73) over Canada In the “North American Derby“.
The semi-finalists complete the list Puerto Rico, 94-89 winner over Argentina, called to challenge Venezuelacapable of being right 109-102 of the Dominican Republic, while the United States has the task of trying to break Brazil’s winning streak in the Tournament that lasts 10 matches…
Company that Uncle Sam’s representatives victoriously complete the plan (99-96)just as Puerto Ricans are presented with the opportunity to conquer their second title in the Manifestation having in turn been right not without suffering (94-91) of the Venezuelan resistance.
Sunday 18 June 1989 represents a historic date in the basketball landscape of the Caribbean country, as the quintet led by Raymond Dalmau manages to prevail 88-80 thanks to the superb performances of Jerome Mincy, author of 20 points, well supported by Raymond Gausse and Mario Morales, who for their part put 19 each on the scoresheet…
There’s no point in remarking the historical significance of the event for the Caribbean country, but what matters most is the awareness of one’s possibilities to be put to good use the following year on the occasion of World Championships scheduled in Argentina from 8 to 19 August 1990Review they come for only six of the protagonists of that fantastic undertaking have been confirmed, that is, in addition to the already mentioned Mincy and Gausse, also Federico Lopez, James Carter, Orlando Marrero and Francisco Leon.
For their part, the USA confirms only Doug Smith, Owens and Laettner, but having placed on the roster three future NBA stars such as Chris Gatling, Kenny Anderson (who will be second overall pick in the 1991 draft) ed Alonzo MourningGold at the Sydney 2000 Games …
In the world championship, however, it is also necessary to deal with the realities of Old Continent, which for the last time offers the complete Soviet Union and Yugoslavia before the disintegration of their respective regimes, which they also surround Greece, Italy and Spainso that the framework of the 16 registered national teams is more competitive than ever.
The formula, a bit cumbersome but which still allows for any missteps to be remedied in the initial phase, requires that the training groups referred to be divided into four groups of as many teams each, with only the first two to access a second phase also in groups which qualifies the top two of each Group for the cross semi-finals….
For Porthorico the draw is not the worst, as it is placed in Group A it has to deal with Yugoslavia of Divac, Kukoc and Drazen Petrovic, but the other two are certainly affordable, being Venezuela and Angola which, in fact, are surpassed albeit with a few too many worries at the start against the African quintet (78-75 with 16 points from Mincy) …
Already qualified for the second phase with two victories each, Yugoslavia and Puerto Rico face each other in the last round to decide the top of the Group, a match that takes place on August 10 in Santa Fe and also destined to make history especially for its progress, given that at halftime the reigning European Champions lead (56-39) with a 17-point marginsalvo “to disappear” literally in the second half, a partial which sees them score a paltry 19 points, thus allowing the incredible comeback of the Caribbean who won 82-75 with 23 points from José Ortiz and 21 from Juan Contreras.
In the other groups, the USA – compared with Greece and Spain, as well as the Cinderella South Korea – they struggle in their debut against the Greeks, defeated 103-95 in extra time after trailing 45-56 at halftime, and then finished undefeated thanks to a 95-85 win over Spainwhile the adventure of the Italian national team deserves a separate chapter…
Inserted in Group B together with Brazil, Australia and Chinain fact, Italy debuts with a clear defeat (125-109) against the South Americans, and then redeem themselves by beating Australia 94-89 (35 points from Antonello Riva…) and therefore liquidate China with negligible ease (115-76).believing that they have qualification in their pocket, were it not for the fact that, in the last match of the Group, the Brazil, sure of first place, loses 68-69 against the Australiansso that the separate ranking between the three teams finishing tied penalizes the Azzurri for a worse points difference.
With this parenthesis closed, with finally the USSR dominating Group D, the second phase sees the two relative groups composed of Puerto Rico, United States, Australia and Argentina on one side and from Brazil, Greece, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union on the other, so that, 12 months later, Americans and Caribbeans have the opportunity to meet for the third time…
That the USA does not have a quintet capable of dictating the law is demonstrated by the narrow claims obtained both against Argentina (104-100, with Anderson scoring 32 points) which, above all, against Australia, a challenge decided 79-78 at the buzzerunlike the clearer successes achieved by Puerto Rico (89-79 over Australia and 92-76 over Argentina), so that when the two teams face each other for the “two-ball” for mid-August at “Luna Park” of Buenos Aires, the prediction is anything but obvious.
Although both are already certain of qualifying for the semi-finals, there is also the honor and desire on the American side to make up for the setback of the previous year, and the challenge remains balanced (48-45 for the Caribbean at halftime), with Puerto Rico once again prevailed 81-79 thanks to Ortiz’s contribution (22 points), well supported by Mincy and Gausse who scored 17 and 13 respectively, so as to make Anderson’s 20 points useless on the US side…
In the other Group, a sort of “mini European Championship”, is recorded first defeat in the Tournament by the Soviet Union, who also fell heavily (100-77) against Toni Kukoc in an evening of grace with his 21 points, followed by Zarko Paspalj who finished with 17, with the USSR having to gain access to the semi-finals on the last day against Brazil, managing to prevail (110-100) only in the final of a match in which Valeri Tokhonenko on one side and Oscar Schmidt on the other dominate the scoresheet, scoring 38 and 34 points respectively.
And so, the pairings of two semi-finals pit the USA against Yugoslavia and the USSR against Puerto Rico“Nothing new under the sun” for the first three, but with the great novelty of the Caribbeans, who reached this level for the first time in the history of the Festival, being moreover the only one of the four teams still unbeaten and who now, after having conquered the scalps of the other two semi-finalists during the Tournament, dream of adding the Soviet one too…
There is a whole nation tuned in in front of the televisions to hope for yet another miracle, when the two quintets descend onto the parquet of the “Luna Park” of the Argentine capital at 7:00 pm local time on August 17, 1990to decide who, two days later, will have to face Yugoslavia in the Final who, two hours earlier, had defeated the United States 99-91, maintaining the accumulated margin (51-43) at halftime, thanks to a “monster test” of the “Mozart of baskets“, aka Drazen Petrovic, author of 31 points to compensate for Mourning’s 28 at home “stars and stripes”.
What has been narrated up to now, as far as Puerto Rico is concerned, is nothing more than a “beautiful fairy tale“, to which However, the happy ending is missing, clashing with the greater experience of the Soviet sailorslet’s not forget reigning Olympic Champions, so da give in at a distance, after holding their own (46-50) in the first half, with the scoreboard showing the final 98-82 with Tikhonenko still the protagonist with 23 points…
And so, while it goes on stage the rematch of the remembered Final of the Seoul Games between the two”battleships” Europeans, which Yugoslavia completes a match already decided (52-34) at halftime and ends at 92-75 with five players in “double digit“, the day before The United States and Puerto Rico once again found themselves facing each other for the platonic third placea placement which, moreover, neither of the two teams shows they want to give up, given that the match continues until extra time and only thanks to the two champions Anderson and Mourning (34 and 20 points respectively…), the USA manages (107-1’5) to complete the podium.
A dream vanishes for Puerto Rico, but not the pride of having managed to defeat it twice in four meetings the “Basketball Masters” – and more are added a third the following year, 73-68 in the semifinal of the Pan American Games – in addition to the fact that it probably constituted “the drop capable of breaking the camel’s back“to convince the USA to deploy the very famous”Dream Team” at the 1992 Barcelona Games…
Yes, because with College Basketball it had now become impossible to excel, and Puerto Rico has clearly demonstrated this, sorry if it’s not enough…
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