with these players, finishing 2nd, after losing the final game to Greece, who entered the cup with their entire lineup. Santiago and Ayuso joined the practices on July 5, 2008, when Puerto Rico traveled to Slovenia, where the Alpos International Cup was being held. The first match in the tournament was a victory against New Zealand, followed by another victory in the semifinals over Iran. At the end, Puerto Rico finished second, losing to Slovenia in the finals. The Preolympic tournament began on July 14, 2008, but Puerto Rico's debut came the following day, when the team defeated Cameroon and advanced to the second round, due to a loss that the African team had suffered during the first day of competition. On its second game, the team lost to Croatia, but in the quarterfinals, defeated Slovenia. The team didn't qualify to the Olympics, after losing to Greece in the semifinals and to Germany in the tournament's bronze medal game. 2008–2012 This Olympic cycle began with the 2008 CentroBasket competition. After having failed to classify directly to it, Puerto Rico's spot was secured after its first and only participation in the 2007 CaribeBasket tournament, where Puerto Rico won all round one games by over 25 points and went on to win gold. The 2008 Centrobasket was scheduled to take place before the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, but due to time constraints it was postponed. A group of prospects was included in the roster to replace Peter John Ramos and Ricky Sanchez, who were injured. Among those included was Ángel Daniel Vassallo, who played as a small forward in Virginia Tech. In the first game of the tournament, Puerto Rico defeated Costa Rica. In the other two games of the first round, the team defeated Cuba and Panama. During the course of the event, Carlos Arroyo and Larry Ayuso were forced to rest a game due to injuries. In the semifinals, the team scored a win over the Dominican Republic. Puerto Rico won the gold medal by defeating the United States Virgin Islands in the finals. The team has secured a spot for the 2010 FIBA World Championship by finishing in 1 of the top 4 spots in the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship. At the end, Puerto Rico finished the tournament with the silver medal, having lost the game against Argentina in the group stage, and losing the final against Brazil. Pending the