If Sara Guerreiro’s most recent basketball experience in Germany is any indication, her professional career set to begin in the central European country this coming season should go quite well.
The Cleveland State graduate competed at the World University Games this month, hosted by the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, and helped her native Portugal to a sixth-place finish in the tournament.
Really, though, she did a lot more than “help.”
Guerreiro led her team in points (10.5 per game) and rebounding (6.5), and tied for third in assists (1.7), paving the road to a 3-3 overall record. Her 86.4 percent rate on free throws (19-for-22) was the fourth-best number across the entire tournament.
In just about every way, it was a measurable improvement on Guerreiro’s first WUG experience. Two years ago in Chengdu, China, Portugal was quickly bounced from medal contention after losing its first two games, though they swept three consolation matches to salvage a ninth-place finish.
This time around, Portugal similarly opened the event with a blowout loss to China, the eventual gold medalist, on July 18th. But the comparison to 2023 ended there, as they recovered immediately to close the group stage with decisive victories over Chile (94-48) and Romania (82-63), securing advancement to the quarterfinals.
Guerreiro delivered a 17-point, 12-rebound effort against the Chileans, and even took up cheerleading for a bit after the game, then was one of four players in double figures during the latter must-win effort.
Hungary, which went on to win the bronze medal, made quick work of Portugal in the knockout rounds on July 22nd, taking a 77-51 result. However, Guerreiro provided the underdogs with a fleeting moment of hope in the third quarter.
Portugal trailed 44-27 at halftime, but scored the first ten points out of the locker room to trim the deficit to seven. Guerreiro had the final eight of those tallies, including a pair of three-pointers, while also contributing four rebounds and a steal to the run. Her monstrous efforts were quickly negated by a Hungarian response though, and the margin was back up to 19 by the end of the frame.
Guerreiro paced her team with 13 points in a 65-51 win over Finland two days later, in the placement rounds. That outcome also earned her a measure of revenge on Liisa Taponen, a center on the Akron team that defeated CSU last November. On Friday, Japan forced Portugal to settle for sixth place by limiting them to just 24 percent shooting from the floor in a 71-47 romp.
All in all though, it was a productive time in Germany for Guerreiro, who helped her nation reach its goal of a top-eight finish. She will return to the country this fall with the Damen-Basketball-Bundesligen’s BC Pharmaserv Marburg.
CSU’s Prafil Capaccio Competes in Fencing
Guerreiro wasn’t the only Cleveland State-connected athlete at World University Games. Rayllen Prafil Capaccio, who just completed her sophomore year with the Vikings’ fencing team, represented her native Argentina in the event.
Prafil Capaccio specializes in the épée, one of the three weapons used in fencing, including a 15th-place finish in the discipline at the NCAA Regionals in March. She didn’t fare quite that well in Germany, as she was eliminated during the group stage of the competition and placed 94th overall.
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