Point guards André Curbelo and Javier Ezquerra received new call-ups to Puerto Rico’s national basketball team with excitement, having come up together through international youth teams since they were 13 years old. Coach Carlos González called both up for the squad that will play the fifth qualifying window toward the FIBA World Cup 2027. "We have another opportunity to play together. It makes us both proud to be able to play together again. It’s something incredible. We basically grew up together. Sharing the court with André again is something incredible," Ezquerra said.
Curbelo stressed the relationship they have built since childhood and what it means to coincide again in a national-team process. Both said they contacted each other as soon as they learned the news, and they thanked the fans, aware of the difficult moment Puerto Rico is going through in qualifying with a 2-6 record. They said the team must compete at the highest level and go out to win its remaining games to stay alive.
"We know what we have to do. There is no tomorrow, we have to go out and win. We have to do our job to be calm," they said.
They have not yet sat down to talk with González but are grateful for the opportunity. Puerto Rico plays in Panama on November 26 and hosts Uruguay on November 29 at the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum in Bayamón, where Ezquerra plays professionally with the Vaqueros.