ESPN NBA

By Alfredo R. Berríos
ESPNdeportes.com

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Forward Charlie Villanueva twisted his ankle in the final minutes of the Dominican Republic's 78-73 victory over Venezuela in Day 4 of the FIBA Americas Championship.

"A Venezuelan player stepped on my ankle," Villanueva explained after the game. "It hurts a little but it's nothing bad. We're going to ice it and I'm expecting to be ready [on Sunday against Argentina]".

Villanueva scored a game-high 28 points and had 12 rebounds in 40 minutes as the Dominicans advanced to the second round.

Coach Julio Toro explained that he wanted to rest Villanueva. Villanueva's plan was different.

"Charlie was playing at his peak," Toro said. "He's a player with great abilities and was the key to our game. When he got hurt, he told me he wanted to stay in the game."

Francisco Garcia scored 21 and Al Horford added 14 points and 12 rebounds. Villanueva also grabbed 12 rebounds.

Hector Romero scored 25 points for Venezuela.

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Get ready for a close re-encounter.

Uruguay faces Mexico on Sunday, the final day of the Qualifying Round. Last week, a friendly between both teams turned into a brawl. [Lucha Libre broke out: Watch it here.] For that matter, Uruguay is anxiously waiting and hoping that the incident doesn't repeat itself. Most certainly, the professionalism of players from both teams will be put to test in San Juan.

Uruguay's Martin Osimani, center, jumps over Emilio Taboada as Nicolas Borsellino, obscured, joins the celebration after defeating Canada 71-69. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)

"It's an important game of this tournament. If not, Saturday's victory doesn't mean a thing," explained Martin Osimani, whose three-pointer sealed Uruguay's win over Canada 71-69.

"I think nothing's going to happen. We're professionals. I hope there aren't any fights."

Osimani scored 14 points and had 9 assists while center Esteban Batista led with 19 points and 12 rebounds in Uruguay's second win of the tournament. Leandro Garcia Morales netted 11 and Mauricio Aguiar added 10.

Jesse Young had 20 points for Canada.

Canada will finish the Qualifying Round against Puerto Rico.

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Looking forward to Sunday's round of games, Mexico's coach Arturo Guerrero doesn't expect Uruguay to give in.

"That's the way they play, always hard," Guerrero said.

Mexico defeated the U.S. Virgin Islands 80-63 to reach the quarterfinals of the qualifier while joining Puerto Rico, Canada and Uruguay as the teams to advance to the second round. The aforementioned teams will face the four best in Group B. Final standings for both groups are yet to be determined.

Mexico had five scorers in double digits: Anthony Pedroza and Omar Quintero scored 17 each; Noe Alonzo and Gustavon Ayon had 16 each and Horacio Llamas netted 10 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished 7 assists.

Kevin Sheppard scored 18 points for the USVI.

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Fines triggered by disciplinary actions rained down on Saturday.

As initially reported by ESPNdeportes.com, Argentina was fined $5,000 after at least one player damaged the locker room following Friday's loss to Brazil.

"They were fined but they have the right to appeal," said FIBA Americas' director Anibal Garcia.

It was also learned that Panama and Venezuela were fined $5,000 each for verbal and physical unsportsmanlike conduct outside their locker rooms prior to their game Friday. Panama won that game 80-71.

The U.S. Virgin Islands basketball team was fined $5,000 for leaving the Roberto Clemente Coliseum after their loss to Mexico on Saturday without showing up for postgame media interviews. USVI lost 80-63.

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Brazilian guard Leandro Barbosa is expecting a great year for the Phoenix Suns.

"Our team is different. We don't know what's going to happen, but we know Steve Nash signed and we're very happy about that," said Barbosa. "Plus, we have Amare Stoudemire returning. They're both good. I think we'll do well."

Nash agreed to a two-year, $22 million contract extension that will keep the two-time MVP point guard under contract with the Suns through the 2011-2012 season. Stoudemire will be with the team after rumors of being traded.

Barbosa said he's happy to be able to play alongside fellow NBA player Anderson Varejao of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Tiago Splitter of Real Madrid in the Spanish league.

"First of all, it's very important to be here. My friends and I in Brazil's national team hadn't seen each other in a long time," Barbosa said. Barbosa is averaging 19 points per game in the FIBA Americas qualifier.

"We have to qualify and that's what is important to all of us who came here," Barbosa said. "I think we've done a great job up until now and with luck we'll [qualify to the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey]."

Brazil [and Puerto Rico] had the day off. Brazil concludes the first round of games Sunday against Panama.

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After two losses, Argentina found a way to get its first victory and crushed Panama 80-55.

Houston's Luis Scola led the winning squad with 20 points and Pablo Prigioni scored 19 points while adding 8 rebounds and 8 assists.

Jamar Warren led Panama with 18 points.

Argentina plays the Dominican Republic in a crucial match in the final day of the preliminary round. Panama faces Brazil as both teams try to keep their hopes alive.

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LOOKING AHEAD: FIBA Americas DAY 5 @ ESPN360

Sun, Aug 30 1:30 PM : Uruguay vs. Mexico
Sun, Aug 30 4:00 PM : Brazil vs. Panama
Sun, Aug 30 6:30 PM : Argentina vs. Dominican Republic
Sun, Aug 30 9:00 PM : Puerto Rico vs. Canada

[All times in Eastern Time]