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[Saba Sports News] Former NBA guard Carlos Arroyo got emotional on Sunday after Puerto Rico’s men’s basketball team secured a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Puerto Rico defeated Lithuania 79-68 in the championship game of the Olympic qualifying tournament at Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado led the team with 23 points on 9/14 shooting, along with 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 4 threes. This victory ended Puerto Rico basketball’s 20-year Olympic drought.
Arroyo, a star for Puerto Rico in the 2000s and the team’s general manager since 2021, shared a heartwarming moment with Alvarado after the win.
Arroyo played 9 seasons in the NBA as a role player for 7 different teams, averaging 6.6 points and 3.1 assists per game. Known as one of the best international guards of his time, Arroyo famously scored 25 points with 7 assists and 4 steals against Team USA in the 2004 Olympics, handing them their first Olympic loss since 1992.
Arroyo seems to have found his spiritual successor in Alvarado, who brings the same energy on the court as Arroyo did.