Friday, November 3rd, 2023.- In the opening game of the Pan American male's basketball tournament on Friday, Puerto Rico had no trouble defeating Panama, securing the seventh spot at Santiago 2023.

The final score in favor of Puerto Rico at the Polideportivo 1 in Estadio Nacional was 89-49. Puerto Rico had a comfortable lead in all four quarters, with scores of 21-9, 19-8, 24-17, and 25-15 in each respective quarter.

The standout player for the winning team was Adrián Ocasio, who contributed 25 points and seven rebounds. Justin Quintero was the top performer for Panama, with 17 points and six rebounds.

"After facing a very tough first phase, all the teams came to give their all. But we are proud of the work we've done because we have eight new players in the squad, and we leave these Pan American Games with beautiful memories," said Puerto Rican player Evander Ortiz after the match.

Isaac Hall, from the team that finishes in the eighth place at Santiago 2023, mentioned, "We are a young, developing team, and we need to keep working. We lacked a bit more experience in closing a couple of games."

The Santiago 2023 schedule for the day continues with the game between the Dominican Republic and Chile, competing for the fifth place at 1:00 p.m. hours, followed by the semifinals featuring Argentina vs. Mexico (5:30 p.m.) and Brazil vs. Venezuela (8:00 p.m.).

Written by Patricio Cabello and Marcelo González; translated by Vicente Valdivia / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport
Photo by Luis Hidalgo / Santiago 2023 vía Photosport