Time For A Tropical Vacation

January 21, 2007 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Miami Tropics News Release


Time off is a powerful motivator.

And it may have been enough to power the Miami Tropics past the Palm Beach Imperials, 99-89, on Saturday night at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

"We promised our players that they would get this coming week off from practice if they won on Saturday," Tropics Owner/President Art "Pilin" Alvarez said. "I think that inspired the guys."

With the win, the Tropics improved to 17-4 and first place in the ABA's Southeast Division. Second-place Jacksonville is one game back.

The Tropics are now off until Feb. 2, when they play at Jacksonville. Miami is 10-1 on the road and has won 6 in a row overall.

The Tropics are also 17-2 over their past 19 games and 10-0 when Karel Rosario starts at center. Rosario had a huge performance Saturday with 26 points and 13 rebounds.

The Tropics, who started the game on a 10-0 run, appeared headed to an easy win. Marcus Barnes, the hero of Miami's win over Palm Beach on Friday with 34 points, was the Tropics' leading scorer in the first quarter on Saturday. He had 8 points as Miami led 23-9 after one.

Palm Beach cut the deficit to 1 point midway through the second quarter. But Rosario had 8 points in the quarter and Miami increased its lead to 46-35 at halftime.

Ray Rose had 7 points in the third quarter as the Tropics against withstood Palm Beach rallies and headed in to the final period with a 67-61 lead.

For the first three quarters, Palm Beach had never led or even been tied. But that was about to change.

Palm Beach tied the score at 77 with a tip-in. And with 6:01 remaining, Palm Beach finally took its first lead, 80-77, on a three-point play.

In fact, Palm Beach led 87-84 when Rosario led the Tropics surge that won the game. Rosario scored on a putback to cut the deficit to 1 point and added a three-point play to put Miami up 89-87.

After a Palm Beach basket, Rosario hit a jumper from the free-throw line to put the Tropics up for good, 91-89. Jerron McCiskill hit a jumper with 1:31 left to give Miami some cushion, and the Tropics closed by making 6 free throws in the final seconds.

Of the game's final 16 points, 14 of them were scored by the Tropics.

Forward Terence Shelman led the Tropics in rebounds with 17 and added 14 points and 3 assists. McCiskill added 14 points and 8 rebounds.

"I wanted the week off," Shelman said of his relentless effort.

No one knows if Palm Beach has time off during the All-Star break or if the team will practice every day. But one thing for sure: The Imperials must hate to see the Tropics on their schedule. The Tropics have beaten Palm Beach 6 times in a row.

Meanwhile, Tropics Coach Ed Auricchio said the time off is perfect timing for his team.

"Guys like Carlos Escalera and Pachi Cruz (both playing despite foot injuries) can now get some rest," Auricchio said. "I'm sure the entire team can use a break."

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 January 21, 2007


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