Cuban basketball player Jasiel Rivero gets injured in Spain

September 13, 2021

Cuban basketball player Jasiel Rivero, who recently arrived at Valencia Basket Club in Spain, was injured during a training session and will miss the Supercopa Endesa of Spanish basketball.

According to a statement issued today by his club, the Havana native had to leave Thursday's training after getting injured. The communication reports that "following the imaging tests to which the Cuban forward-center was subjected, it is confirmed that he suffers a muscle injury in the rectus femoris of his left leg."

For this reason, Rivero did not travel this Friday with his teammates to Tenerife, the site of the Supercopa, and will not be able to contribute to the Valencia cause in the tournament semifinals, in which his team will face the powerful Barcelona, the reigning champions.

In statements to the press prior to the tournament, the Cuban "had shown optimism about the results" and had noted that Valencia Basket would travel with "great confidence to win the title," points out the digital site Jit.

In those comments, the player from the Island had praised the good prior preparation that was carried out, which translated into four victories in the same number of preseason games. In the last of these matches, played on Tuesday, he himself had driven the team with 12 points in the 79-72 victory over CB Gran Canaria.

Regarding his adaptation to his new club, after a couple of seasons at San Pablo Burgos, Rivero assured that he has integrated very well into the collective dynamic and "has bonded with his new teammates despite the short time working together," notes the sports publication.

The Havana native's absence is a significant loss for Valencia Basket in the Supercopa, in which semifinals they also will not be able to count on Macedonian point guard Nenad Dimitrijevic, Spanish forward Xabi López-Arostegui, and French forward-center Louis Labeyrie.

However, it is expected that the Cuban will be recovered for the inaugural day of the Liga Endesa on September 18, in which his team will face Baskonia.

Born in 1993 in Havana and standing 2.06 meters tall, Jasiel Rivero is considered the main figure of Cuban basketball at present. In his professional career he has played for clubs in Uruguay (Club Atlético Tabaré), Argentina (Estudiantes Concordia and Boca Junior), and Spain (San Pablo Burgos and, now, Valencia Basket).

With the Burgos team he won two titles in the European Basketball Champions League, the second most important club competition on the Old Continent, and the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in 2021. Furthermore, for his excellent performance in the past season, he was selected among the players of the best second team of the Liga Endesa 2020-2021.