With only seven men, Cuba faced the favorite United States without complexes in the debut of both teams in the FIBA Americup 2025 qualifier in Osceola, Florida, but ended up losing 100-79.
The Americans opened the Group D win column with decisive contributions from Jamius Ramsey (20 points) and Gerald Hannahs (19).
Four Cuban players were unable to attend the clash, two because of problems with documentation and two others, who play in Argentina, because Washington denied them visas to enter the country.
Only eight travelled to the United States and one left the team before the match.
Even so, Cuba came within 10 points in some parts of the game, although in the fourth and final quarter the wear and tear took its toll on the islanders.
For the Caribbeans, Reynaldo Garcia stood out with 19 points and two three-pointers, while Jasiel Rivero contributed another 16 points with five assists and four rebounds.
The two teams will meet again on Sunday 25 at the Ciudad Deportiva Coliseum in Havana.
In the other match of the key, the Bahamas beat Puerto Rico 88-77.
