Mar del Plata, Argentina.- NBA star Al Horford’s 24 points o Tuesday led Dominican Republic’s team to a 90-60 win over Cuba in the basketball pre-Olympic of the Americas’ inaugural game.

Horford opened with a dunk for the game’s first point, in the tournament that will supply two qualifiers for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Atlanta Hawks forward was effective in two-pointers, netting 12 on 18 tries.

“We have played well, with very good defense,” said Horford, who also grabbed nine rebounds and had one assist. “We‘ve worked hard for this and with the rest of the games we’re going to be improving; we won and that’s the important thing.”

The team headed by John Calipari kept on the offense throughout the game, except for the very start, when Cuba surged ahead 6-2.