Wednesday, June 17, 2009 | 5:59 p.m.
Carlos Lopez and the rest of the Puerto Rican junior national basketball team won’t get much time to forget about its recent game against Lithuania in France.
At the 23rd World Junior Basketball Tournament, in Douai outside Lille, Puerto Rico led Lithuania, 58-56, when fighting broke out. Players were ejected and the game was stopped, with Puerto Rico winning.
Puerto Rico and Lithuania meet again on July 2, in the opening round of Group A action at the FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand.
In France, Lopez, who will attend UNLV in the fall, had 10 points and 5 rebounds in Puerto Rico’s upset of a U.S. team called 2K Sports.
Canadians Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson, teammates of Lopez’s at Findlay College Prep last season who will be prep seniors in the fall, played on 2K Sports.
Thompson, a Texas commit sprained an ankle last month, averaged 10.4 points and 5.8 rebounds. Joseph averaged 8.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5 assists, and he won the 3-point competition in France.
With 17 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals, Joseph had his best game against the Canadian squad, which finished first in the competition at 3-2. Thompson had 10 points and 11 boards against the Canadians.
Puerto Rico also went 3-2 but finished second according to tie-breaking procedures.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy