Mexico City.- Mexico gave hope of competing in the first half, but in the last two quarters it suffered and ended up losing 96-84 to Lithuania in the Pre-Olympic basketball tournament on the road to Paris 2024.
The Mexican National Team collapsed in the third quarter, and that took its toll on the scoreboard of the match held in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The tricolors lost in their debut of the mini tournament and will return to action on Thursday to face the Ivory Coast.
Omar Quintero’s team needs to win to advance to the Semifinals, and it should be remembered that only the winner of the Repechage tournament will qualify for the Olympic Games, where Mexico has not participated since Montreal 1976.
The Mexican team fought hard in the first two periods, and at halftime they were down by only five points (49-44), but in the third they only scored 17 points to 34 for the Lithuanians.
Lithuania brought its best team, including NBA great Domantas Sabonis, who contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Joshua Ibarra was the best scorer for the Mexicans with 18 points, followed by Gabriel Girón with 15 points.
There were last-minute absences for this tournament, such as Paco Cruz and Gael Bonilla, two players who contribute a lot offensively.
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