July 1, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Starting Wednesday, sophomore guard Isaac Sosa (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) of the UCF men's basketball team will compete against some of the best young players in the world when action begins at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand. Sosa and the Puerto Rico squad will open the event with a contest against Lithuania at 9:30 p.m. Eastern.
Sixteen nations are participating in the tournament, which will conclude July 11. Puerto Rico is grouped with Angola, Greece and Lithuania.
In June, Sosa helped Puerto Rico place second at the World Juniors Basketball Tournament in France. He totaled 11 points in two contests - victories over Australia and the United States.
Sosa, who averaged 8.2 points as a freshman in 2008-09 for the Knights, says that he is looking forward to facing some of the best young talent in the world. The United States team, which is coached by Jamie Dixon, includes Seth Curry of Duke and Tyshawn Taylor of Kansas.
"This is a great opportunity for myself and my teammates," Sosa said. "There are a lot of great teams from around the world, including the USA. They beat us by a lot of points last year. I still think it is a great opportunity to have that international experience."
Last summer, Sosa helped Puerto Rico qualify for the world championship by finishing fourth at the FIBA U18 Americas Championship in Formosa, Argentina. The shooting guard averaged 13.8 points and 3.2 rebounds at the tournament. He had his best contest against Canada, recording 19 points and six boards.
Sosa will be one of two Conference USA players at the championship. UTEP's Arnett Moultrie is playing for the United States.
Puerto Rico's team includes a few other NCAA student-athletes, including Jio Fontan of Fordham and Mike Rosario of Rutgers.
After facing Lithuania, Puerto Rico will meet Greece Friday and then close preliminary play Saturday versus Angola. Bracket play will start Monday.
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