Jayson Granger: the “final” with Puerto Rico, his role as a benchmark and why Vescovi and Ubal are the future of the team

The Uruguayan basketball team will have a true final today starting at 8:10 p.m. when it hosts Puerto Rico at the Antel Arena for the Qualifiers heading to 2023 World Cup in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. Ruben Magnano’s team is coming off a lopsided 105-71 loss to the United States in Las Vegas.

In that meeting, corresponding to the first game of the second roundLa Celeste managed to compete only in the first quarter, where they went into the short break four points behind parity, but as the minutes went by the team’s defensive intensity diminished and the Americans, who had Jenkins and Jeffries in a extraordinary level, they took the process to be more leaders than ever in group F with 13 units.

For its part, La Celeste lost a key point considering that Puerto Rico took advantage of its opportunity, surprisingly defeating Brazil in the last quarter and managing to equal Uruguay in the standings with 11 units. La Canarinha is second with 12 units, Mexico has 11 and Colombia adds 10.

In dialogue with Ovation, Jayson Granger, one of the referents of La Celeste, stated: “The match with Puerto Rico is one more final, a very important game for us, with a direct rival and it will make the difference. If we want to meet the goal of getting into a World Cup, a lot goes through the game we played against Puerto Rico”.

Then he referred to the importance that the support of the fans will have: “The support of the people has to be fundamental, we need the Antel Arena to be full, but above all that the people put pressure on the environment, that they feel that they are playing away and squeeze. But it also depends a lot on us, on how we approach the game and get into the crowd with a nice game”.

As for the opponent, grange He referred to its strong points: “It’s a very physical team, with a lot of offensive talent and players with a lot of points in their hands. That’s one of their virtues, their counterattack game and their scoring ability.”

He also spoke about his weak point: “The disorganization they have, both offensively and defensively. For us it will be essential to be able to control their counterattack, manage our rebound and impose our pace of play to be able to have a chance of winning” .

When asked about how the role of reference in the Uruguayan team suits him, the point guard replied: “It suits me well, I have been able to play important roles throughout my career in different teams, but in a national team it is an extra point of motivation; it is true that we have many young boys who see themselves a little reflected both in me, in Stephen Batista or Bruno Fitipaldo; It’s a nice responsibility to try to make them understand what this shirt means and help them continue to grow”.

Lastly, he recounted which players from the current squad have surprised him: “There is a mixture of youth and experience, it is clear that both Santiago Vescovi What Agustin Ubal they are the future of this selectionplayers with a lot of talent, character and their work ethic is very good, they are going to put the roof on them, I think they are going to have a brilliant future depending on how they face their sporting life, but I think they can have a nice sports career”.

Ticket prices to support Puerto Rico

Tickets can be obtained through Tickantel. Prices range from $600 to $2,000 and up to two years are free.

Other crosses of the group

Mexico will have a hard stoppage as a visitor against Brazil from 7:30 p.m., while Colombia will host the United States (7:40 p.m.).