Hello Pep (Josep Claros), let us congratulate you first on Liga Americas title with Pioneros de Quintana Roo-Cancun and of course on Coach of the Year award.
Let us know please is the Liga Americas title the most important trophy in your coaching career so far? Is something hard to say because I have a lot of feelings for all the other titles as well. Obviously in America is a big thing, and I know this one will be in the Mexican history forever, but I really think every championship was special. Is difficult to reach the final and even more to win so Im proud of every championship I got because is always a lot of hours, a lot of personal connections fighting for the same goal and a lot of experiences that you just know when you win and lose finals.
Which game was the most difficult for you and your team at the Final Four Tournament? All of them. I will explain why: the first one because we were playing against the home team and even we had a lot of confidence there are some things you cant control playing away. We knew we could beat them if we had the mentality to smash and send a message, let everybody knows that we were good enough to win the championship. In some point we were 27 up, we finally won by 18. The second one was difficult because the Brazilian team has winning experience and players like Giovannoni and Alex (ex- Maccabi) and 3 National Team players. The last one, was obviously tough because Obras Sanitarias is the best Argentinean team, with the National Team head coach and they just need to win by 1 to be champions. We won by 9 and we were ahead all game using 12 players in the first half.
Can you compare the level of Liga Americas with some of the European leagues? Liga Americas is a competition that every game is all or nothing. You have to win 3 finals four before get the championship. All the teams you compete against are the best ones of their countries, so they know what it takes to get there and they have the best talent of their leagues. Every country has their own characteristics in terms of style of play. Is not the same to play against a Brazilian team than to the Argentineans and even more different if you play against the Puerto Rican team. You have to be clearly the best and do well some aspects of the game like dominate the rhythm, develop the toughness during the competition and have a good team mentality.
You reached 13 Finals so far with different teams in different countries. Which one you will never forget, except of the Liga American Final 4? I have good memory so I will remember all of them...I also remember all the losses I had so eventually they push me to keep fighting. I will not forget a game when with American University (NCAA Div. II school) we upset No.1 in the country Arkansas who was undefeated at that time. It was 16 years ago in a Christmas day. It wasnt a title game but it was just special and we made a big presentation to college basketball. After that we won the conference 2 years in a row with just 3 loses in 2 years and beating other schools like top 10 Alabama or Texas C. and Hofstra.
You started the season with the Halifax Rainmen. It was the inaugural year of the NBL Canada, so can you please tell us something more about the league? The NBL is an athletic league where you can have 10 Americans per team. Most of the players have stints in Europe , D- League and some even NBA. Is very interesting to see because you have all of the teams with real possibilities to improve the roster (22 transactions during the season) and to win every game because you are constantly thinking about winning the game but also to recruit the best talent available at the same time. Most of my players had played in Europe so they could adapt to practices and some of rules that I adopted.
What are your plans for the next season? You are still Head Coach of the Mexican National Team. I will decide very soon. The Pioneros of Cancun organization will run the team so it looks that Mexico could have a strong team if they add 5 or 6 players to the Mexican team we won the Liga Americas. After the silver medal we got in 2010 is a good opportunity to keep winning internationally. If they can have the best players Mexico can be very close to Argentina and Brazil , so eventually we could have good results. In the other hand there is an option in Europe that could be an excellent project for an emerging country that I m sure will be top in the very next future, because they have talent, physical strength, mentality and is run for good basketball minds. My goal is keep winning so I feel very fortunate if Im part of them.
Thank you Pep and we wish you all the best in the future!
Arecibo and Guaros advance into semifinal stage - 11 days ago
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Group D
Ponce - Arecibo 93-94
Arecibo advanced into the semifinal phase as they nipped Ponce in the third round. Andre Emmett (196-F-82, college: Texas Tech) stepped up with 25 points and 9 rebounds for the Capitanes. Ponce grabbed a 26:14 lead after ten minutes. But Arecibo responded with a 56:42 run in the next two quarters to pull ahead. The hosts dropped 25 points in the final frame but could not avoid the loss. Elijah Holman (208-F/C-89, college: Detroit Mercy, agency: Pensack Spor... [read more]
Group D
Ponce - Arecibo 93-94 Arecibo advanced into the semifinal phase as they nipped Ponce in the third round. Andre Emmett (196-F-82, college: Texas Tech) stepped up with 25 points and 9 rebounds for the Capitanes. Ponce grabbed a 26:14 lead after ten minutes. But Arecibo responded with a 56:42 run in the next two quarters to pull ahead. The hosts dropped 25 points in the final frame but could not avoid the loss. Elijah Holman (208-F/C-89, college: Detroit Mercy, agency: Pensack Sports) finished with 24 points for Arecibo. Nick Minnerath (207-PF-88, college: Detroit Mercy) replied with 29 points for Ponce.
Guaros - Libertadores 92-85 Guaros de Lara earned the third straight win in Ponce. They rallied past Libertadores to seal their semifinal berth. Guaros accounted for a 49:39 halftime lead. Libertadores cut the distance in the second half but came up short of victory at the end. Aaron Harper (203-SF-81, college: Mississippi) posted 23 points and 9 rebounds, while Justin Williams (206-F/C-84, college: Wyoming) added 21 points and 23 rebounds for the winners. Anthony Young (200-F-89, college: Ky Wesleyan) replied with 26 points and 8 rebounds for Libertadores.
Group D
Libertadores - Arecibo 75-86
Arecibo posted the first win in Group D action as they rallied past Libertadores on Saturday. Andre Emmett (196-F-82, college: Texas Tech) recorded 30 points to lead the charge. Arecibo established a 51:36 halftime lead. They protected it well throughout the second half and marched to the victory. Elijah Holman (208-F/C-89, college: Detroit Mercy, agency: Pensack Sports) produced 23 points for the Puerto Rican team. Cezar Guerrero (185-G-92, college:... [read more]
Group D
Libertadores - Arecibo 75-86 Arecibo posted the first win in Group D action as they rallied past Libertadores on Saturday. Andre Emmett (196-F-82, college: Texas Tech) recorded 30 points to lead the charge. Arecibo established a 51:36 halftime lead. They protected it well throughout the second half and marched to the victory. Elijah Holman (208-F/C-89, college: Detroit Mercy, agency: Pensack Sports) produced 23 points for the Puerto Rican team. Cezar Guerrero (185-G-92, college: Fresno St., agency: Best of You Sports) replied with 20 points for Libertadores.
Guaros - Ponce 83-79 Guaros earned the second straight win in Ponce as they beat the hosts. Aaron Harper (203-SF-81, college: Mississippi) delivered 23 points for the Venezuelan side. Guaros secured a 40:32 halftime lead. They used a 23:11 run in the third term to clear off for good. Rodney Green (196-G/F-88, college: La Salle) chipped in 17 points for the winners. Carlos Arroyo (188-PG-79, college: FIU, agency: Interperformances) answered with 23 points and 7 assists for Ponce.
Group D
Arecibo - Guaros 81-84
Guaros outscored Arecibo in the opening game of Group D. Nestor Colmenares delivered 25 points and 9 rebounds for the Venezuelan team. Guaros grabbed a 42:32 halftime lead. Arecibo tried to escape the loss sinking 49 points in the second half but Guaros held on to seal the win. Rodney Green (196-G/F-88, college: La Salle) dropped 20 points for the winners. Andre Emmett (196-F-82, college: Texas Tech) replied with 22 points and 6 rebounds for Capitanes.
... [read more]
Group D
Arecibo - Guaros 81-84 Guaros outscored Arecibo in the opening game of Group D. Nestor Colmenares delivered 25 points and 9 rebounds for the Venezuelan team. Guaros grabbed a 42:32 halftime lead. Arecibo tried to escape the loss sinking 49 points in the second half but Guaros held on to seal the win. Rodney Green (196-G/F-88, college: La Salle) dropped 20 points for the winners. Andre Emmett (196-F-82, college: Texas Tech) replied with 22 points and 6 rebounds for Capitanes.
Ponce - Libertadores 109-112 Libertadores upset hosting Ponce in Group D opener. Andrew Feeley (205-C/F-83, college: UMBC) dropped 30 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for the Mexican team. Libertadores accounted for a 34:25 lead at the first break. They stretched the margin at 11-point mark at the final break. Leones drained 38 points in the fourth stanza but came up short of victory nevertheless. Anthony Young (200-F-89, college: Ky Wesleyan) chipped in 28 points for the visitors. Carlos Arroyo (188-PG-79, college: FIU, agency: Interperformances) and Victor Liz (193-SG-86) replied with 25 points each for Ponce.
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: World Cup U19 starts
: World Cup starts
