Men's Basketball
Bitee and Cameroon Edged By Puerto Rico, 81-72, in FIBA Olympic Qualifier
July 15, 2008
ATHENS -- Former URI guard Parfait Bitee scored 17 points - including two key buckets during a fourth quarter run - but it was not enough as Cameroon dropped an 81-72 decision to Puerto Rico in the second game of the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, being held in Athens, Greece.
With the loss, Cameroon is eliminated from the 12-team tournament, which runs from July 14-20. The team was coached by former Rhody standout Lazare Adingono.
Bitee was 5-for-12 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from the perimeter. The 6-2 guard hit a two-pointer and a deep three during a Cameroon run, cutting Puerto Rico's lead to six points (65-59) with 6:45 left. They had trailed by as many as 21 points in the game.
Harding Nana, who led the Lions with 22 points, connected on a jumper with 1:40 to play in regulation, cutting the score to 70-67. But Puerto Rico - thanks to a 13-of-27 shooting from the perimeter for the game - was able to hold on.
Over the two games, Bitee averaged 15.5 points and 4.0 assists in 28.5 minutes per contest.
The FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for men will round out the 12-team field for the upcoming 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. Nine teams have earned berths: Angola, Argentina, Australia, China, Iran, Lithuania, Russia, Spain and the United States.
The 12 teams in Greece have been broken up into four groups: Group A: Brazil, Greece and Lebanon; Group B: Cape Verde, Germany and New Zealand; Group C: Canada, Korea and Slovenia; Group D: Cameroon, Croatia and Puerto Rico.
The top two teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals, which begin on July 18. For more information, click here.
