The nationalized Puerto Rican basketball player,Ysmael Romero Fernández, was unable to travel to Cuba with the Puerto Rican national team due to delays by the Cuban authorities in giving him his entry passport to his native country.
The athleteHe was thinking of facing his old team as part of the qualifying tournament for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, in a match scheduled for next Sunday.
“We are very sorry for the situation. Despite all the efforts we made in the Puerto Rico Basketball Federation to obtain his Cuban passport, it finally did not arrive on time, so he will not be able to travel with the team to Cuba," explained Yum Ramos, president of that local organization. , in astatement.
According to Ramos,The Cuban player had started the necessary procedures since 2021, and a message was even sent to the Federation of Cuba and the Cuban embassy and consulate in Washington D.C. However, the document did not arrive in time for Romero's trip, whose participation in the match between both teams aroused much anticipation and curiosity among basketball fans.
The athlete himselfHe had commented about it that he had some fear. "I'm going to play in front of my grandparents, my daughter and my parents. So, I have that fear of doing well. Maybe I would say it's not even fear. It's excitement and anxiety," he confessed to the local newspaper.The Spokesman.
Puerto Rico's sports authorities were now trying to managethe passport of athlete Chris Gastón to wear his country's shirt in Sunday's game against Cuba. The Puerto Rican team has just lost its last match against the United States while theCuban team fell to Mexico.
In October 2021 it was approved by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA),the official incorporation of Romero Fernández to the whole of that Caribbean country. "I am extremely grateful to Puerto Rico and so excited with this news that I have no words to describe it. From day one they opened the doors for me to continue developing as a person and as a player, this will be a great opportunity to show my love for the island " in that opportunity.
After a decade residing in that nation, the 30-year-old basketball player also achieved approval from the Cuban Federation of that sport. "I will give my 100 percent every time I am called to represent the national team. The people in general have shown me their support, respect and affection and that fills me with pride. I will be ready for anything," added the athlete.
"We are very happy to welcome you.Ysmael has earned the love and respect of the players in our league, as well as our fans," said the manager of the Puerto Rican team Carlos Arroyo about this news.
Romero Fernandezhad already faced the Cuban team in November of the previous year, during the first round of this same World Cup qualifying tournament.
“All my life I will be Cuban, that will never change, it is in my blood, but with this Puerto Rican uniform I promise to represent it with respect, pride and gratitude,” the athlete said on his official Twitter account upon hearing the news.
The basketball player played for the team in his native country for a few years, until in 2012, when he participated in a Centrobasket, he decided to leave the national team and request political asylum in the United States.
Since then his sporting career has been on a constant rise. He even had the opportunity to play in theD-League (currently G-League, NBA development league). He has also been a professional inMexico tournaments andArgentina, in addition to Puerto Rico.
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