 Barea continued playing backup point guard at the 2008 Centrobasket tournament and entered the final round leading the event in points, after scoring 31 and 30 against Panama and the Dominican Republic, respectively.In the last two games, Barea was promoted to the starting lineup.Puerto Rico went on to claim the gold medal of the tournament, by defeating the United States Virgin Islands, and Barea to receive its Most Valuable Player award.