The Miami Heat’s recent trip out of the country was a little bit sour for Jaime Jaquez Jr.
The Heat forward Jaquez revealed to reporters on Friday that he came down with the stomach flu during the team’s trip to Mexico City over the weekend. Miami was in town for a game on international soil against the Washington Wizards, which they won 118-98. But Jaquez, who finished with eight points and 10 rebounds during the victory, did not play for the Heat in their next two games on Monday and Wednesday. Apparently, some bad food that Jaquez ate while in Mexico was the culprit.
“I think I had a little stomach flu, stomach virus, something of that sort and I felt it coming back from Mexico,” said Jaquez, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “I ate something from a store, it didn’t sit well with me. So for the past couple days. I’ve been dealing with that. But I’m feeling a lot better now. So I decided to come back and join the team. Here I am.”
The 23-year-old Jaquez was an All-Rookie First Team selection with the Heat last season and continues to produce this season with averages of 9.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest off the bench. But the stomach virus forced Jaquez to stay back in Miami for the last several days before finally rejoining the team for Friday’s road game in Denver.
Jaquez is Mexican-American and is one of the few active NBA players of Mexican descent. But he was still no match for the food he ate in Mexico City, which recalls to mind the story of another pro athlete who once got food poisoning from eating some bad Chipotle.
