Jamaica’s Rose breaks Argentina’s heart
BY SANJAY MYERS
Observer staff reporter
myerss@jamaicaobserver.com
CARACAS, Venezuela — Top player Samardo Samuels was absent from the Jamaican team for the clash with title-holders Argentina in the FIBA Americas Championship game on Friday.
But shooting guard Weyinmi Rose was very much present while scoring 24 points, including an awe-inspiring 20 in the fourth quarter alone.
His heroics almost single-handedly propelled the JamRockerZ to a sensational and historic 81-75 victory.
The small spattering of spectators hung onto his every move and cheered in ecstasy as the 26-year-old unleashed his magic.
However, it was no fun for Rose’s opponents.
His crisp three-pointer in the dying seconds, which was preceded by a cross-over dribble and a head fake that bewildered his adversaries, brought the house down and was the ultimate dagger that punctured Argentina’s heart.
The six-foot five-inch player said that head coach Sam Vincent insisted that he take the team on his back despite the nondescript display throughout the opening three periods.
“I was struggling and coach kept telling me to get going, it will help us win. He was calling plays for me, and my teammates started looking for me and I started knocking down some shots,” Rose explained.
Rose, who most recently played professionally in Puerto Rico, but is yet to confirm where he will be this season, added that after successfully hitting his opening few shots, his confidence was sky-high.
“A lot of my game is [based on] confidence and coach been telling me I need to play the way I usually play. At this tournament I haven’t been playing the way he knows that I can. It just shows how confident he is in me and I just began to play how I know that I can,” he said.
After six matches at the tournament, he is the team’s second best scorer — behind Samuels — with 13.5 points per game
Rose’s mother is a native of Port Antonio, Portland, but the basketball player was born in New York.
The JamRockerZ are seeking a top-four finish at this Championship, which would secure them an automatic spot in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.
Jamaica’s Weyinmi Rose in action against Brazil last Tuesday. (PHOTO: FIBAAMERICAS.COM)
