TROPICS GO 3-0, WIN FIBA REGIONAL
Dec 13, 2007
By: Walter Villa
The Miami Tropics have done it again.
The Tropics, who won the Copa McDonald's in Puerto Rico in 2005, are now 6-0 in international competition.
On Thursday night, they won the FIBA Liga De Las Americas Miami regional with a 3-0 record at FIU.
After beating the top pro team in Mexico on Tuesday and another tough Mexican club on Wednesday, it was Puerto Rico's turn to get a whipping from the Tropics. Miami sliced up Arecibo, 81-71, humbling the team that finished No. 2 in Puerto Rico last season.
The Tropics had actually clinched the second round earlier Thursday when Fuerza Regia upset Halcones Xalapa, 93-89, in an all-Mexican battle.
All three of the Tropics rivals in this tournament finished with 1-2 records. But Halcones, ranked No. 1 in Mexico, won the tiebreaker and advanced as the second-place team.
The Tropics will play the reigning champions of Puerto Rico, Santurce, in the FIBA quarterfinals next month.
The Tropics will travel to Santurce on Jan. 16 and the Cangrejeros will return the favor on Jan. 23. If a third game is needed to break a tie, the Tropics would host Santurce on Jan. 24.
The Tropics are expected to again use FIU as their home court.
Meanwhile, Halcones will play Soles in an all-Mexican quarterfinal.
The other four quarterfinalists are yet to be determined among teams from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
The Final Four will be played in February at a site to be determined.
The Tropics are now off for the holidays and will start practicing again on Jan. 2.
The Tropics' Most Valuable Player in the opening round was clearly Jermaine Watson, the highly-talented combo guard from Boston College.
Watson scored 24 points and added 4 assists in Thursday's win. For the tournament, he averaged a team-high 28.3 points.
Only two other Tropics reached double figures in points on Thursday - rookie forward Stuard Baldonado (10 points, 9 rebounds) and veteran forward Sylbrin Robinson (10 points, 7 rebounds).
Baldonado's 9 boards were a game high, and he did it in just 18 minutes. After not playing the first game, Baldonado proved in the final two outings that he can be a major contributor inside.
Baldonado helped the Tropics earn a 51-42 rebounding edge, and that board work was key all tournament long. In three games, the Tropics outrebounded their opposition, 164-128.
That's a stat that speaks to how badly the Tropics wanted to win this tournament.
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