Jose Alvarado Olympic stats (July 28): How did Puerto Rico's point guard fare against South Sudan?

Jose Alvarado of the New Orleans Pelicans made his Olympic debut for Puerto Rico on Sunday against South Sudan. Alvarado led Los Gallos to Paris after winning their Olympic Qualifying Tournament in their own country, beating Lithuania in the final.

The Pelicans guard started the first quarter hot, leading his nation to an eight-point lead heading into the second period. However, the South Sudanese kept it close before halftime and were just down 54-48. Disaster struck in the dying seconds of the second quarter with Alvarado going down with a right ankle injury.

Alvarado finished the first half with 19 points, two rebounds and two assists on 6-for-8 from the field. He was the beating heart of Puerto Rico in the first half and many expected him to be out for the rest of the game. He was carried back to the locker room since he could not put weight on his right foot.

Puerto Rico started the second half without Jose Alvarado due to an ankle injury. Alvarado returned to the sidelines two minutes after the third quarter started and made his way back to the game. He was visibly slow after getting into the game although he got his rhythm back and the adrenaline started to run.

Alvarado had seven points in the third quarter to help keep Los Gallos afloat. George Conditt IV also had a great period with South Sudan not helping themselves by settling with shots beyond the arc. They did dominate the third quarter before Puerto Rico made their run to close the gap entering the fourth period.

The New Orleans Pelicans guard entered the final quarter with around six minutes left. However, he was held scoreless in the fourth as South Sudan finished the game strong to record their first win in the Olympics ever 90-79.

Here are the stats for "Grand Theft Alvarado" against South Sudan:

Players	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	+/-
Jose Alvarado	26	2	5	2	0	2	0	16	9-16	3-8	5-6	-6

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Jose Alvarado showed heart in Puerto Rico's loss

Jose Alvarado showed heart in Puerto Rico's loss to South Sudan. (Photo: FIBA)

Jose Alvarado and Puerto Rico were in cruise control in the first half against South Sudan. Alvarado was on fire but a right ankle injury slowed him down in the second half as the Los Gallos fell in their Olympic opener.

However, the New Orleans Pelicans guard has nothing to be ashamed of as he showed a lot of heart playing through an injury. He still managed to score a game-high 26 points to pace Puerto Rico. He could have used more contributions from his teammates, but most of them went cold in the second half.

Alvarado and his team have a tough task of coming out of Group C with other teams such as Serbia and the United States. They will face Serbia next before the final group stage game against Team USA.