The United States Virgin Islands, ISV, Senior Mens Basketball Team went into their final scheduled game of the 2023 Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament against Uruguay, seeking its first win of the competition on Thursday afternoon in Argentina. A win would create a three-win tie in the pool with Uruguay and Columbia for second place. That team will move on to the playoff phase with top seed of this pool, Chile.
This one was a defensive struggle from the tip, as both teams worked hard on the defensive end of the ball. Uruguay’s Emliano Serras scored 7 of his game-high 16 points in the opening quarter giving his team a 16-13 lead. ISV came together as a team in the second stanza as they recorded five assists on their eight-made baskets. ISV nursed a slim 35-32 lead at intermission.
Defense continued to be the theme in the second half as both teams combined to score a total of 28 points for the entire 10:00-minute third quarter. The fourth quarter was the Miguel Arnold and Earl Baker show, as both ISV players scored 9 and 8 points, respectively, in the final quarter. Baker nailed a Stephan Curry like three with the shot clock running out from a few feet of the half-court line with 2:37 left in the game. Arnold sealed the victory for the Virgin Islands, nailing two big free throws with less than ten seconds left on the game clock giving ISV a 69-65 win.
Arnold led the way for the Virgin Islands men scoring 14 points. Romani Hansen added 12 points and snagged 7 rebounds for the winners. Despite the great final game for ISV, it wasn’t enough to get them through to the playoff round.
