ESPN NBA

By Alfredo R. Berrios
ESPNdeportes.com

SAN JUAN -- Argentina won its fifth straight game at the FIBA Americas Championship and became the third team to book a ticket to the 2010 FIBA World Championship after defeating Puerto Rico 80-78 Thursday night.

Scola helped Argentina hand Puerto Rico its first loss of the tournament. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)

Argentina joins Puerto Rico and Brazil as the teams who have qualified for the World Championship in Turkey. Only one ticket to the World Championship remains open.

Luis Scola led Argentina with 25 points and 12 rebounds while guard Pablo Prigioni netted 11 points and 12 assists.

Larry Ayuso led Puerto Rico with 19 points. Carlos Arroyo scored 18 and gave out eight assists, while Peter John Ramos had 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Brazil (6-0) defeated Uruguay, 82-62, to remain the only undefeated team in the tournament.

Marcelinho Machado led Brazil with 23 points, Anderson Varejao scored 14 and pulled down 10 boards and J.P. Batista had 11 and eight.

Uruguay was led by Mauricio Aguiar (18 points).

The Brazilians play Puerto Rico on Friday. All games take place at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum.

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Sacramento Kings forward Francisco Garcia is listed as doubtful for the Dominican Republic's quarterfinal game Friday against Canada.

Coach Julio Toro confirmed the injury after Thursday's 86-73 victory over Mexico.

"Francisco has a cut in one of his fingers. He basically has a nail out of place," Toro said. "I was told (Thursday) that he wouldn't be available and I haven't been told if he will be available (Friday)."

Garcia is one of three NBA players in the Dominican roster. Charlie Villanueva of the Detroit Pistons and Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks complete the list.

Garcia averages 15.8 point per game in the tournament.

The Dominican Republic defeated Mexico to keep its hopes alive. Luis Flores had 18 points and Villanueva 14 for the Dominican Republic (3-3).

The Dominican squad plays Canada on Friday.

Canada stayed alive while winning over Panama 97-65. Andy Rautins led Canada with 23 points. Carl English followed with 16 points and Jesse Young scored 14.

Danilo Pinnock led Panama with 21 points and Jaime Lloreda had 17 with 10 rebounds.

Panama is out of the race.

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Mexico's Horacio Llamas is retiring and will play his last international game Friday against Panama in the same country where he wore the Mexican jersey for the first time.

"I started out in Ponce 1993 (Games of Central America and the Caribbean) and I'm finishing up in Puerto Rico 17 years later," said Llamas, 36, after the 86-73 loss to Dominican Republic.

Coach Arturo Guerrero appreciated the effort and sacrifice that Llamas put forth in the tournament. Guerrero explained how he insisted on Llamas being included in the team's roster to promote the national pride among younger players.

Llamas had 16 points against the Dominicans. Mexico, out of the race for the final ticket to Turkey, is 0-6. The Mexican squad will finish the quarterfinal round Friday against Panama (1-5) – who is also eliminated.

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The Dominican Republic's coach Julio Toro will keep his job with the national team -- even if the Dominicans fail to qualify for the World Championship.

Frank Hadames, president of the Dominican Basketball Federation, dismissed rumors that Toro would be fired due to the difficulty that has faced the team while trying to secure a spot at the World Championship.

"The contract is for four years," said Hadames during the Dominican Republic's victory over Mexico. "That isn't and will not be in discussion."

Several sports writers, covering the tournament in San Juan for media outlets in Dominican Republic, have questioned Toro's style of coaching. Fans (mainly Dominicans living in Puerto Rico) have openly criticized Toro's performance.

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Tropical storm Erika has weakened, but still threatens Puerto Rico.

"(The FIBA Americas Championship) is an event that we have to consider … Here (in San Juan) we have a great amount of delegates who came from other countries; they came and made a huge effort," said Jorge Santini, Mayor of San Juan, the capital city of Puerto Rico.

The mayor explained that an agreement was reached with Horacio Moratore, president of the executive committee of FIBA Americas, stating that the games would be scheduled earlier and electrical generators would be readily available in case the city's electrical system was affected by the storm.