Puerto Rican point guard J.J. Barea was once the youthful, energetic spark for the Dallas Mavericks off the bench. He played that role to perfection in 2011, helping the team win the NBA championship. Five years later, he's back with the Mavericks, having joined them again in 2014 after stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now Barea is a wily veteran of 31, and still effective in helping Dallas push toward the playoffs.

JJ Barea stars as Mavs stop the bleeding, boost playoff hopes with win over Nuggets https://t.co/xsdEztdiN9 via @spinph — SPIN.ph (@spinph) March 29, 2016

Barea is also an experienced player on the international basketball scene and has represented Puerto Rico in many competitions, but has never had a chance to compete for Olympic gold. Puerto Rico has a final opportunity to gain a ticket to the Rio Olympics in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in early July. The team is in Group A against Serbia and Angola. If Puerto Rico and Barea can finish in the top two, they will take on a team from Group B (Japan, the Czech Republic or Latvia) in a semifinal. The semifinal winners will square off with a spot at the Rio de Janeiro Games at stake.

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