Puerto Rican goalkeeper André Curbelo will make his first appearance at the March Madness tournament in just his first year in the NCAA.
Canastero Natural Vega Baja on Sunday recalled the reasons why the sixth best man of his conference was chosen by scoring a basket with less than a minute of action to lead the University of Illinois to the prestigious college basketball tournament.
Illinois won 91-88 over the University of Ohio to win the NCAA Big Ten conference championship.
Curbelo = Clutch pic.twitter.com/FQkYA1zSZl
– CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 14, 2021
Curbelo was the top scorer for Illinois along with starting guard Ayo Dosunmu and center Kofi Cockburn with 16 points each.
“The champions of the Big 10. It’s crazy,” Curbelo exclaimed in an Instagram show in the locker room.
Curbelo – who has just been included in the ideal team of the Big Ten conference debutants – also scored two important free throws to extend the dominance to five points, leaving only 34 seconds of extra action.
“Puerto Rico, I love you so much. They are the best. You’re my gas. We’re having a hard time because we need another ring, “the goalkeeper continued, as he signed the ball with which Illinois entered the prestigious tournament.
Likewise, Puerto Rico’s root basket, Trent Frazier, added 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and a stoppage in victory.
As of Friday, Illinois will face Drexel University in early March Madness.