Former Georgia Tech basketball star Jose Alvarado scored a game-high 23 points Sunday, leading Puerto Rico to a 79-68 victory over Lithuania in the championship game of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The Puerto Rico team, ending a 20-year Olympic drought, became the final team to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
The leader of the Yellow Jackets’ 2021 ACC championship team, Alvarado becomes the sixth Yellow Jacket player to compete in the Olympics since 2004. Tech has sent a player to compete in every Olympic Games since 2004: Josh Okogie (Nigeria, 2020); Avi Schafer (Japan, 2020); Alade Aminu (Nigeria, 2016 and 2012); Chris Bosh (USA, 2008); Stephon Marbury (USA, 2004).
On Sunday, Alvarado put on a show in front of 13,504 fans at Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot. The New Orleans Pelicans guard scored 10 points in a key stretch of the third quarter where Puerto Rico took control of the game. He finished with 23 points, six rebounds and two steals while shooting 9-for-14 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range.
The 26-year-old was named MVP of the tournament. He was the second-leading scorer in the San Juan Olympic Qualifying Tournament, averaging 16 points on the strength of his 29-point game against Italy in the group phase and his 23-point effort Sunday. Alvarado connected on 50% of his shots from the floor, 50% from 3-point range and 100% from the line.
Puerto Rico will be in Group C at the Olympics with the United States, Serbia and South Sudan in Paris.
Bergmann makes Brazil volleyball squad
Former Tech volleyball star Julia Bergmann has been named to the 2024 Brazilian National Team Olympic roster, the Brazilian Volleyball Federation announced Friday.
Bergmann, a three-time All-American and the program’s most prolific scorer (4.31 kills/set), becomes the first Olympian in program history. She earned her spot on the 13-player roster following a strong performance in the Volleyball Nations League earlier this summer, playing in seven matches over the monthlong tournament, finishing with 39 kills and 11 aces along with five blocks.
Bergmann had four aces and 12 kills in Brazil’s victory over Poland. She is one of three outside hitters on the roster and one of six players on the team who would be making her Olympic debut.
Brazil enters the Olympics as the No. 2-ranked team in the world. They will open the Olympics against Kenya, in Pool B, on July 29. Brazil are defending silver medalists at the Olympics after coming up short to the United States in the gold medal game in 2021. The nation boasts two gold medals in its rich history, Beijing (2008) and London (2012), with Tech associate head coach Claudio Pinheiro on the coaching staffs for both of those years.
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