Manolo Cintron doesn’t have a full Puerto Rico squad yet but he’s in a very good mood.
Puerto Rico’s national team boss is eager to build on the success of last year’s silver-medal run at the FIBA Americas Championship and he has already begun working out with several of his players, including NBA guards Carlos Arroyo and Jose Barea, ahead of a busy summer which finishes in Turkey at the FIBA World Championship.
“I am happy,” he said.
“I already see the backbone of the team.
“The team is being shaped and that makes me happy because we have 10 players to begin moving.
“Now we need to look at the tactics on offense and defense but we are already gaining strength.”
Filiberto Rivera, Ricky Sanchez, Miguel Ali Berdiel, Manuel Narvaez, Luis Villafañe, Nathan Peavy, Angel Daniel Vasallo and David Huertas are other players working out.
Players set to join later are Joel Jones Camacho, Peter John Ramos and Renaldo Balkman, as well as a group of players currently taking part in the BSN post-season.
They are Larry Ayuso, Daniel Santiago, Guillermo Diaz, David Cortes, Angelo Reyes, Christian Dalmau, Carmelo Lee and Javier Mojica.
Puerto Rico should be a good rhythm by the time the FIBA World Championship tips off in Turkey in late August.
They will take part in the Centrobasket Championship in the Dominican Republic from July 5-11, followed by the Caribbean Games in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, from July 24-31.
Once in Turkey, Puerto Rico will play in Group C.
They will have Preliminary Round games in Ankara against Greece, Russia, Ivory Coast, China and hosts FIBA World Championship hosts Turkey.
Because of the BSN play-offs, it’s unclear which players will take part in the Centrobasket.
