Miguel Angel Moreno
Saitama, Jul 29 (EFE) .- Puerto Rico makes its debut in these Olympic Games in the women’s basketball tournament, the culmination of a cycle that began with its qualification for the 2018 World Cup and that allows them to enjoy the “privilege” of living Tokyo 2020, assures Efe the exterior Pamela Rosado.
“It is beautiful, being among the best athletes in the world is something unique. To be able to do it from such a small country, an island, and after everything that has happened in the world to be here, it is a privilege. Puerto Rico, thank you for your support and we are going to continue “, affirms, with a twist of emotion in her voice, the setter of the Athenians of Manatí in the Saitama Super Arena.
Rosado (Arecibo, 1986) is part of a group of players who have led Puerto Rican basketball to a World Cup in just three years, that of Tenerife 2018, and now to an Olympic event for the first time in its history, thanks to its triumph in the pre-Olympic of Bourges (France) against Brazil (91-89).
“It has been a difficult process, Puerto Rico had never done this before. We qualified for a World Cup, we are among the first three countries in America and we have the United States and Canada, which are among the five best countries in the world, so without It is certainly beautiful, it is beautiful to be able to improve year after year and achieve the dream of any athlete, “says the Puerto Rican game director, who has just finished second in the San Juan AmeriCup, where only the United States stopped them in the final ( 59-74).
A path that a few years ago was unthinkable. In fact, Rosado herself came to leave the national team when the Puerto Rican team failed to qualify for the London 2012 Games. A few years later, coach Gerardo ‘Jerry’ Batista convinced her to try the Olympic dream again.
“I retired from the national team, I was out for two years and returned in 2015-16, they were great things for me, for the national team, and without a doubt I did not imagine being here, Puerto Rico had never done it, it is something great for women’s basketball, for us, we are going to do something great for Puerto Rico, “she wishes.
This Tuesday, in their debut against China, they had the first experience of listening to ‘La Borinqueña’, the Puerto Rican national anthem, on an Olympic stage, an exciting moment before taking the field against China.
Against the Asian team, ostensibly superior in the physical section, Puerto Rico fell by 55-97, defeated by the physical superiority of center Yueru Li (21 points and 12 rebounds) and by the success of the Chinese players, who scored 7 of the 19 triples who tried (36.8% effectiveness).
“It is a very strong team, very big for us, in stature we have a lot of advantage. But we are going to come out very strong every day, no matter who we face,” promises the Puerto Rican setter, the top scorer of her team with 14 points, two rebounds and as many assists, and four steals.
However, his path in the Tokyo 2020 Games is not going to be easy. Quite the opposite. Next Friday they will face the sixth best team in the world, Belgium (10 a.m. local time, 9:00 p.m. Thursday in Puerto Rico), and on Monday they will face the second best team on the FIBA list, Australia (9:00 p.m. local, 8:00 a.m. in Puerto Rico ).
“There is no easy game, all games are tough, they are big teams, you have to go out every day to play hard, without thinking that there is a big or small rival,” considers Rosado.
Although they will suffer in the matches, Puerto Rican players are also enjoying a unique experience in Tokyo 2020, that of living the atmosphere of the Olympic Games.
“See the athletes who are there, the NBA players, wonderful tennis players, the perfection of the villas … Japan has broken barriers and this has been perfect, the dining room, everything has its order, arrival on the court, practices … Everything is wonderful, it is an honor “, concludes Pamela Rosado, living the privilege of the Tokyo 2020 Games. EFE
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