Historic feat: Puerto Rico gets to the quarterfinals of the Women’s Basketball World Cup for the first time

The National Women’s Basketball Team achieved another milestone in the world Cup held in Sydney, Australia, by achieving a historic pass to the quarterfinals of this tournament after beating Korea in the last game of both quintets in the group stage.

The score was 92-73, with which Puerto Rico was placed, for the first time in its history, among the best eight women’s teams in the world.

“Obviously, I am very proud of our team. We have a mix of young and veteran players. So for us, who have worked for the past years to try to develop basketball in Puerto Rico, it’s great for everyone,” said the national leader, Gerardo “Jerry” Batista, during the press conference after the game.

Batista expressed that what his team had achieved was “like a fairy tale” because when he took over the reins of the program about six years ago, they dreamed of the moment they were living now.

“We dream of being in a World Cup, in the Olympics. We saw it, we thought about it. When you get it, when you have a group and you keep bringing in other people to continue developing the program and to focus on that and elevate the program, it’s great,” said the coach, who will prepare for the next opponent of the national team.

Batista mentioned that although many people in Puerto Rico do not have electricity after Hurricane Fiona, he has felt the support of the fans.

For her part, the player Mya Hollingshed, who debuted with the National Team in this tournament and had an excellent match, pointed out that her mind was set on “winning the match” and helping her teammates on the court.

The Puerto Ricans closed this stage with a record of two wins and three losses. They beat Bosnia & Herzegovina by a score of 82-58 in their first match of the group stage. They were then defeated by the United States (106-42), Belgium (68-65) and China (95-60). All these teams have already qualified for the quarterfinals.

For its part, Korea fell to China (107-44), Belgium (84-61) and the United States (145-69). They also beat Bosnia & Herzegovina (99-66).

In Group B, Canada, France, Australia and Serbia have already qualified for the quarterfinals. This stage begins on Wednesday, September 28 (September 29 in Australia).

Puerto Rican superiority

In the game against Korea, the Puerto Ricans opened with an 18-0 run against Korea, boosted by 13 points from Hollingshed, who was the best scorer with 29 points. That first period closed 28-10 in favor of Puerto Rico, which was transcendental for the victory.

For the second half, the Koreans tried to close the gap with three-pointers. However, the Magnificent 12 held on and managed to end those 20 minutes with a 21-point lead (51-30).

In the third period, the national team did not slow down and, although Korea continued with its three-point shooting attack, they finished in front 72-47.

Korea began the last quarter with an attack of seven points to four from Puerto Rico with 7:08 minutes remaining, which led the national leader to request a timeout.

The Koreans kept up their push with their shots from distance, but the Puerto Ricans were able to contain them in a way that they could get the coveted round pass.

Arella Guirantes was the second 18 points. Jennifer O’Neill and Isalys Quiñones followed with 15 each.

Leeseul Kang was the best for Korea with 22 points. Hyejin Park contributed 20 more and Jihyun Park 18.

Puerto Rico is in its second World Cup participation, after the 2018 edition held in Tenerife, Spain, where they lost in their three commitments. The Puerto Ricans were invited to Australia after Russia was sanctioned for the invasion of Ukraine.