The Cuban basketball team went to the Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum for the second time in search of a victory against Puerto Rico that objectively would keep alive their aspirations in the World Cup window heading to the 2023 World Cup. It seemed that that extra injection of attitude It would pay off, but no.
The outcome of the match was the same, only now with a narrower margin than the 62-65 defeat suffered at the hands of the Puerto Ricans, and that places us in a very unfavorable position in the aspiration of sneaking into the 12 teams that will advance to the next phase.
In fact, that first set, despite dominating it 14-12, could have been much looser in our favor, but the same shortcomings surfaced: poor shot selection; baskets that should have been achieved and did not materialize; and turnovers that led to transition plays and points for the rival.
Yes, the split in defense was much greater, to the point of stopping the pick and roll plays of the opponents, who did not have one of their key pieces in the inside game, the Cuban nationalized Puerto Rican Ismael Romero; The aid behaved up to the task to break the curtains, but the effectiveness on the offensive side failed on this occasion.
The causes of these slips are found in the fact that our point guards still cannot circulate the ball safely, the approaches in attack do not have the desired effectiveness or so many times designed in training, and consequently, the shot selection is not ideal.
That, recognizing that on this occasion more balls came to our centers, Jasiel Rivero, Pedro Bombino, Yoel Cubillas and Mensiá, but the conversion of baskets did not behave with the necessary effectiveness.
Thus, with these ups and downs we went through the first half, where the foot on the accelerator towards the end of the second quarter allowed us to go into the break with a 36-31 advantage, which was eight and was cut in that last action.
You would arrive in the third quarter, the one of confusion once again, and where it seems, as if touched by a magic wand, the nerves take over our players. There not only the adverse score 11-21 confirms the above, fundamentally in terms of organization of our hosts, and the way to find the basket, but also that right there the Puerto Ricans drilled our painted area.
Then the reaction would come again, to the point of equalizing the score at 56 units in the last period. Right there the inability to close the challenges emerged, when the tension is placed at the limit and surgical precision is required to win.
We lack that element, and this was evident again, even with the opportunity to hit an open triple that would have given us the victory. We could not, in addition to the fact that, compared to Thursday, there was some improvement, but aspects as fundamental as free throws with a very poor 41%; added to 21 turnovers, had a negative impact on the outcome.
X Factors
To the already mentioned percentages from the line of sighs and the 21 lost balls, we must add the fact that those from Isla del Encanto dominated us in the restriction zone, with 40 cards for 24 of our inmates, as they also took advantage of better baskets after losses (20-17); the points for kickback (14-11); and those materialized in second chances (14-11); small margins that in a duel of so much pressure and which culminated in only three units, made the difference.
Another element is the fact that, faced with the double and even triple marks on occasions against Rivero, other men who should have gained prominence such as Yoanki Mensiá, he barely finished with five cards, to which we must add that the biggest assister in the game was the Jasiel himself (4), which speaks of our point guards not finding the compass to grant their teammates basket passes.
Individually Jasiel led the offensive actions with 13 lines, while the experienced Yorman Polás (+14), deserved the highest efficiency product of 8 cartons, seven rebounds, and a couple of assists and as many steals.
On the other side of the court, Jezreel de Jesús led the way in points (21), and effectiveness (+16), running the court very well and taking advantage of his opportunities in one-on-one against his markers.
Moya from the feedback line
DT Eduardo Moya would comment on the match: “we stayed to defend. We cannot give away four balls and not define the possessions. That from the first quarter, and we lost by three points. A sign that, closing the circle of play and the rotation, we did not know how to take advantage of everything we had in our favor.
It is inconceivable that we have shot 17-7 in free practice, and that tactically so many indisciplines have taken their toll on us. These differences must be preserved, we must continue to improve in the work we do, we cannot start a partial by giving away two balls that ultimately reduced the advantage and cost us.
Jasiel is the spark plug of the team, but he needs help, we needed them to find that peace of mind in crucial moments and having been with them for four months, but there is still a long way to go. They came to meet the designed strategy after four minutes of the second quarter.
They made us defend strongly, and after 5-3 seconds, they attacked us one on one and with that dominance in handling the ball, they took advantage of us”, stated the helmsman who also remarked that the Superior League needs to start immediately (scheduled to start on April 1), because there are talented kids but stopped in time as a result of three years without facing any basketball competition.
Jasiel himself recognized that they lack a way to find the compass in the final stages and towards the closing of quarters and matches, especially in the case of clashes with the scoreboard closed; and that the anxiety of wanting to show the best version of him at home has taken its toll.
We continue on the waiting side, yearning for that victory that has not come. For now, we remain in the basement of key D with four setbacks and the possibility of accessing the next phase is receding on the horizon. The last window of June-July will have the floor.
