Uruguay 91, Mexico 82

August 26, 2007 � Las Vegas, Nevada

Riding the hot hand of Nicolas Mazzarino, who connected on 8-of-13 three-point field goals and scored a game-high 36 points, Uruguay upended Mexico 91-82 on Sunday afternoon at Thomas & Mack Center as each team concluded its� preliminary round play.

Gustavo Ayon�s layup just before halftime cut Mexico�s deficit to seven points, and behind a strong third quarter from Roberto Beck, the Mexicans rallied to take a 67-64 lead heading into the final period of play.

Esteban Batista would tally 11 points and five rebounds in the fourth quarter, finishing the game with 25 points and 15 rebounds and helping Uruguay to hold off Mexico, which struggled mightily from the charity stripe down the stretch. After making 15-of-18 foul shots through the first three quarters, Mexico shot just 5-of-14 from the line in the final stanza.

Both Uruguay (3-1) and Mexico (1-3) are safely into the second round of play. Uruguay ends round one with the second-best record in Group A.

ALBERTO ESPASANDIN, URUGUAY HEAD COACH
Congratulations on your win. Was it hard to manage Mexico's full court press and new team dynamic?
I think Uruguay played well. As a result of their full court press we only had two or three turnovers, so I think Uruguay played smart. We did well with their pressure. The dynamic in today's game and Mexico's team was interesting, but Uruguay was still able to come out on top.

MARTIN OSIMANI, URUGUAY
You had the biggest responsibility on the court and despite the exhaustion you still managed to stay in control. How were you able to do this?
Our focus was not to rush in this game. I tried to guard the ball without being too passive because that allows them to move their pressure further up the court. So while I tried not to run all the time, when I could, I would pass the ball to Nicolas who was very effective. When you have such a high shooting percentage - 7 out of 12 - among your team members that opens the game up. That's what's good about our team; we're clear about what we play so we don't fall into their game.

How does it feel to win today?
It's great. We have the finals tomorrow and we know Brazil is a tough team. USA is an unbelievable squad and we know with Canada we have a chance, so we'll play all our cards tomorrow. It's a final like today and it's great. We came here with a lot of expectations and things are going great so far. Our work over the last couple of years has paid off.

NOLAN RICHARDSON, MEXICO HEAD COACH
This was one of those games that you had some changes. Can you comment on how that forth quarter unfolded?
We had definitively some changes. There were a few times that we could not catch it in the free-throw line. In a game that tight, we almost have to make all the free-throws because Uruguay was making all of theirs. I thought that on the third quarter we came out much more aggressive. We played the kind of defense we had been working all this time to get back into the ball game. We took away some of the things that they were able to do by shooting threes. I never seem so many three pointers made by individuals. Uruguay did a good job making three throws also.

Can you talk about the tournament so far and what has been going on the past three or four days?
Watching all the teams and being able to see some of them play is quite tremendous. The Argentina team is good. The Brazil team is magnificent, and the United States is awesome. And again, the rest of us fit right among a different cut. I think teams such as the Virgin Island, maybe Canada and Uruguay, and some of the other teams might be just below teams such as Brazil and of course the United States.

What happened with your team today?
What happened? We lost. That is the game. We had many opportunities to win, but we could not make the free-throws when we needed. Uruguay has a strong team. We played well, but we could not follow their game. This happens at times.

VICTOR MARISCAL, MEXICO
I know you guys have been playing a lot of games lately. Did you feel ready or were you tired for this particular game?
We had a lot of preparatory games before this tournament, but as coach said it before, there are some of the best teams on our continent here and they all play very well. They had a great strategy; we could not get passed their three-pointers. It was a very competitive game. We had many opportunities, but one of their Big Man made a three-pointer against us and after that we could not control the game. I think he made eight or ten three-pointers. So there is no discussion about this.

What do you expect on the second round?
We are already qualified for the second round, now the worry is about the position we will get. If Panama wins, we will be fourth. We would be playing against the U.S. in the second round. If Panama loses, we then will get in third and will play against Brazil. We just have to keep working hard. There will be two teams who will have to go home, and we'll get an opportunity to go further; so we'll have to keep it going strong.