Puerto Rico 108, Panama 67

August 23, 2007 � Las Vegas, Nevada

Back-to-back three-pointers from Elias Ayuso and Ricardo Sanchez to start the game helped fuel Puerto Rico�s 12-0 opening run � a run from which Panama never recovered. Puerto Rico had five players score in double figures as they rolled to a 108-67 victory.

Sanchez finished with 19 points, having connected on five-of-six 3-point field goals as Puerto Rico evened its tournament record at 1-1. Panama, which lost an overtime thriller to Uruguay on day one, fell to 0-2.

Orlando Forbes� 19 points paced Panama in defeat.

MANOLO CINTRON, PUERTO RICO HEAD COACH
What's your impression of the game and the adjustment that Puerto Rico made after yesterday?
Today we played a game that we're used to playing. It's our strategy to play as a team and focus on extra passes. What we hadn't seen since we integrated our big guys was fluidness in our offensiveness, and today we did that for the first time. Doing picks and looking for our shooters when they were open.

With so many big men in this tournament and Puerto Rico being primarily a perimeter team, is it going to be tough to maintain this type of consistency when you play against the different playing styles?
We don't have a good rebounding team, that's why we use a lot of guards and play primarily offensively. I'm very happy with the team though, they are young guys with a lot of potential to improve.

Is this the best game that Puerto Rico has played since the Caribbean Cup?
Absolutely. We only had three days to train for the Caribbean Cup and Ayuso and Carlos weren't in shape. We were recovering, but then we played against Mexico and it caught us in a bad moment. We saw our potential today. Puerto Rico played the way we know how to play and the way we should play throughout this tournament.

As a shooter, what can you say about Ricky's performance off the bench?
He's a young player, 20 years old, that has generated great expectations. We believe in him and know he just needs to continue to grow in this game. He's a kid playing like a man now and we see that ever since the first tournament, his performance is still 100%.

What do you expect for tomorrow's game?
We're playing a very agile team, athletically. It's one of the best teams in the tournament, well structured offensively. They don't make mistakes and they use their 24 seconds offensively and defensively they make you play yours. We have to play smart, minimize turnovers. We have our hands full with Scola and need to focus on doing a good job against him.

In a tournament as short as this one, it must be difficult to lose your first game, which affects the team emotionally. What did you say to your players after that game?
We have three team leaders and they are three players with a lot of experience - Arroyo, Ayuso and Apodaca, who didn't play today. But the two players that played today are our north and we regrouped this morning to regain strength. We are capable of shining in this tournament with our team and they know that in addition to a coach they have a friend. They have all the confidence in the world to know they belong here. That's why they can move on from that loss.

ELIAS AYUSO, PUERTO RICO
What's your point of view about Ricky's performance off the bench?
I think that young players like Ricky and Antrone who demonstrated he's a great shooter today, have proven their talent and level of play, like the NBA. He has confidence and his strength is three-point shooting and he's been consistent throughout and will continue to be in this tournament.

VICENTE DUNCAN, PANAMA HEAD COACH
What's your impression of the game and what happened defensively?
Our game plan was to stop jump shots because we knew that the Puerto Rico team had lost yesterday against a Mexican team that they had not played against in a while. So we thought they wouldn't play well defensively today. We thought that stopping their jump shots was what we had to do. Halfway through the first quarter we missed a lot of opportunities, a lot of jump shots were made on their end and they were playing very well. Our defense fell a little, but we were conscious that we had to make a comeback playing defensively.

You face Mexico and Argentina next. Do you think you still have a chance to qualify?
I think we have to raise our intensity level. Just like today we have to play defensively and play hard until the end. This isn't over. There may be many surprises and we have to wait to see what happens.

JAMAR WARREN, PANAMA
The game yesterday with Uruguay was such a physical and intense game. Do you think that game took its toll on your team?
Yes, it was very physical, but we matched up very well with them. They have one or two big guys and we have the same. In fact, we dominated the east side yesterday, and that's why we stayed in the game. We had a chance to win but we missed the free throws in the end.