Rose Stars In Tropics Loss

December 10, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Miami Tropics News Release


It was inevitable that the win streak of the ABA Miami Tropics would be snapped at some point, and the end came at home Saturday night.

The Orlando Aces (3-4) beat the Tropics, 109-100, at Nova Southeastern University, snapping Miami's six-game win streak. Among the fans at the game were University of Miami assistant coach Butch Estes and WQAM sports talk-show host Ed Kaplan.

The Tropics have been unpredictable this season, winning four games in four days and then dropping Saturday's game when they were rested. Another odd note: The Tropics are 3-0 on the road and only 3-3 at home.

One mitigating factor on Saturday was the fact that shooting guard Carlos Escalera, the Tropics' leading scorer with a 28.4-point average entering the game, was held to 10 points due to a groin injury. Escalera, who had missed the previous game due to the injury, played just 13 minutes Saturday, including 0 in the second half.

Stepping up for the Tropics was reserve point guard Ray Rose, the team's defensive menace. Rose had his best performance of the season with a game-high 26 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. He made 10 of 16 shots from the field and 4 of 4 from the line.

But Rose's effort was not enough. The Tropics appeared listless early, going scoreless for the first 2 minutes. Orlando led 15-8 before the Tropics rallied and closed the deficit to 20-18 at the end of the first quarter.

The Tropics took a 50-43 lead at the half thanks to Escalera, who had a team-high 10 points in the first two quarters. Another standout in the first half was point guard Pachi Cruz, who had 8 assists.

Rose took over in the third quarter, scoring 12 points, many of them off of his suffocating defense. He scored 8 of those points in less than 1 minute with a layup, a steal of an in-bounds pass, a three-point play, a free throw and another layup.

Thanks to Rose, the Tropics led 78-75 after three quarters. But with Escalera out of the game, the Aces rallied to outscore Miami 34-22 in the final period. It was the first time in 5 games that the Tropics had allowed over 90 points.

A huge problem came on the boards, where the Tropics were outrebounded, 58-47. The Tropics also shot only 43 percent from the field and were awarded only 12 free throws, making 10. The Aces, on the other hand, went to line 32 times, making 21. Two of the costly whistles were technical fouls on Cruz and Angelo Reyes.

Cruz had just 4 points but added 11 assists and 4 steals. Reyes had 12 points and 9 rebounds, and Terence Shelman was solid as usual with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. He also made 7 of 13 shots.

Guard Marcus Barnes added 10 points, and forwards Karel Rosario and Sylbrin Robinson had 8 each.

The Tropics' next game is at home Tuesday night vs. the Jacksonville Jam.

Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.



American Basketball Association Stories from December 10, 2006


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