Magic FIBA AmeriCup 2015 title inspiring Venezuela's U16 group
CARACAS (FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017) - Venezuela pulled off a magical miracle in winning the FIBA AmeriCup 2015 to qualify for the Olympics. That run to Rio 2016 is serving as an inspiration for the Venezuelan team ahead of the FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017.
Despite not having an NBA player on their team, Venezuela knocked off Canada in the FIBA AmeriCup 2015 Semi-Finals to book their Olympic ticket. They then defeated Argentina to win the continental title.
"That encourages us to continue working for these guys since that is undoubtedly the foundation for any youth category," Venezuelan coach Alfredo Madrid said. "They know the effort the players made with sacrifices and a long term plan. And they were able to achieve a very important tournament and an Olympic dream that every athlete of a high performance wishes."
Venezuela will be competing at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship for the second straight time - an accomplishment that is very important to the federation in Caracas.
"For us it is very important since it joins two generations and we can have continuity to the work that is being done and give greater depth to the preparation for the older categories," Madrid said. "In addition, we are increasing the importance of the development of basketball in our country."
"It would mean a lot (to reach the U17 tournament). It would give a boost to the state authorities who understand that work in the younger categories is indispensable, and we can achieve much more than we have achieved with the older categories."Afredo Madrid
Venezuela's last appearance at the FIBA U18 Americas Championship, however, dates back to 2008.
"We are working on changing that and giving better attention to it," Madrid said.
The coach is looking for more development at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017 in Formosa, where Venezuela will take on hosts Argentina, Canada and Paraguay in Group A. The top two teams advance to the Semi-Finals and secure a ticket to the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018. The best three teams and Argentina advance. If Argentina finish in the top four, the third placed team then also heads to the U17 global tournament, which will be hosted by Argentina in Rosario/Santa Fe.
"It would mean a lot (to reach the U17 tournament). It would give a boost to the state authorities who understand that work in the younger categories is indispensable, and we can achieve much more than we have achieved with the older categories," Madrid said.
| Venezuela's preliminary 19-man squad for FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017 | ||||
| Enderson Alcala | Carlos Antivero | Luis Bentancourt | Jose Caraballo | Alhan Diaz |
| Luis Diaz | Kelber Escobar | Wilkerman Gomez | Tonz Gonzalez | Andres Marrero |
| Joe Meneses | Cristians Moya | Julio Perez | Enyerber Ponce | Anthony Ramirez |
| Kevin Ramirez | Mario Sanabria | Victor Sanchez | Carlos Vargas | Richard Ormo and David Perez (not on hand) |
The team has already started its final preparations for Formosa, coming together with a 19-man preliminary squad in Valencia. Two other players from abroad - David Perez and Ricardo Ormo - will likely be on the team in Argentina but are not there for the start of training camp.
"I am glad to get the job started. We will work in the best possible way, there is little time for the tournament," the coach said. "But we trust the boys."
FIBA
