Puerto Rico loses against the United States and points to a match against Russia to try to qualify for the World Cup

The National women’s basketball team fell 93-55 to the United States on Saturday in the continuation of the 2022 World Cup qualifier in Australia.

The Americans, qualified for the World Cup as Olympic champions, improved to 2-0 with five points in Group A to end their run. Puerto Rico, with 0-2 and two points, now travels to the Dominican Republic to meet Russia.

A victory keeps alive the chances of striking out the ticket to the second World Cup in the history of the adult program. On Sunday, Russia faces Belgium and if the Russians win, the Puerto Ricans are eliminated.

Russia and the United States each received one point after their match was cancelled.

The Belgians (1-1 and three points) will also make the trip to Quisqueya in search of securing the pass. They beat Puerto Rico 98-65 last Thursday but fell 84-75 to the United States on Friday. The Russian team could not play at the headquarters in Washington, DC due to health restrictions to enter the North American nation.

The United States, with a squad full of WNBA players, sentenced the match with a first quarter of 33-8 against the Puerto Ricans with 10 points from Jewell Loyd. Ariel Atkins was the top scorer for the Americans with 14. Allisha Gray added 13 points.

“In the first set, I think we didn’t come out with the concentration and the desire to win. Outside of that initial partial, I understand that we compete. We try to compete against her. It was everything. We try to prepare for the next game. We know that’s the important one.” said Gerardo “Jerry” Batista, leader of Puerto Rico.

For Puerto Rico, Isalys Quinones finished with 12 points, and Jazmon Gwathmey scored 11. Arella Guirantes accumulated nine points in the reverse.

“Nothing against the United States, they are a great team against any rival. For us it was like the coach said, to be better as a team. We know that they have already qualified, so we try to fine-tune details to improve for the next game against Russia,” Quiñones said.