By Reinaldo Oliveros
03 Jul 2024, 14:30 PM EDT
Mexican Adrien Isaac Porras became the youngest player in modern history to participate in a Pre-Olympic tournament making his debut at the age of 15 in the match his team lost to Lithuania 84-96 this morning.
The center, who broke the record held by Dominican center Karl-Athony Towns, who was 16 years old in the 2012 edition, entered the court with 21.5 seconds left in the third quarter, when his team was losing 82-59, and only played those seconds.
“I feel incredible to have the opportunity to be there with (Domantas) Sabonis. Everyone was clapping and booing and I could feel all of that on the court,” said the player after the match played at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan (Puerto Rico), according to statements released by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
The Mexican team will face the Ivory Coast on Thursday to seek qualification for the next round of the Pre-Olympic tournament.
Mexico fell to Lithuania in the debut
Lithuania opened the men’s pre-Olympic basketball tournament in Puerto Rico on Tuesday with victories over Mexico 96-84 and 114-53, to advance with 1-0 records in their respective Groups A and B.
The Lithuanians opened the challenge held at the Puerto Rico Coliseum in San Juan, losing to the Mexicans, 0-9, but after a combination between the stellar Lithuanian center Domantas Sabonis and Tadas Sedekerskis, they closed the score and subsequently dominated the first quarter, 28-22.
The second period started fairly evenly until Lithuanian Marius Grigonis scored eight points in a row, including two three-pointers, to help his team take a good lead of 47-35.
The Mexicans tried everything possible to get closer to the scoreboard, achieving this goal with only five points to close the first half of the match.
But the Lithuanians wanted to show that they are one of the great powers of world basketball and with a 17-point difference in the third period, they went on an 83-61 run.
Keep reading:
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