RIO DE JANEIRO (Brazil) - Star guards Marcelinho Huertas and Yago Mateus are among 25 players Brazil have named in their preliminary squad for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

The South Americans are in Group G with Spain, Iran, and Cote d'Ivoire in Jakarta. If they advance, a very difficult Second Round could potentially follow with games against teams that progress from a Group H that has Canada, France, Latvia, and Lebanon.

Huertas, who played for Lenovo Tenerife in Spain, has featured at every World Cup since 2006 in Japan while Yago just completed a sensational season with Ulm in Germany, where he was MVP of the Basketball Bundesliga Finals.

Yago played at the 2019 World Cup in China.

Brazil celebrated in February after qualifying for the World Cup

Other players that have World Cup and Olympic experience that have been named include NBA-experienced guard Raul Neto, sharpshooter Vitor Benite of Spanish side Gran Canaria, and Yago's Ulm teammate, Bruno Caboclo.

Also included are Basketball Champions League Americas winners with Brazil club, Franca. They are George de Paula, Reynan Camilo, Lucas Dias, Marcio Santos and Lucas Mariano.

"THERE ARE 25 NAMES FULLY CAPABLE OF REPRESENTING BRAZIL" - Gustavo de Conti

"It is a list with different generations of basketball players in Brazil, some more experienced, others who are emerging and some who will be part of the future of the national team," said Brazil coach Gustavo De Conti.

"There are 25 names that are fully capable of representing Brazil and being competitive in a World Cup. We will make the best preparation possible, to arrive in our best condition."

Of the 25 players, 16 will be called up for a training camp in Sao Paulo, which will get underway on July 27.

Brazil's warm-up game schedule includes battles against Australia, South Sudan, and Venezuela in Melbourne. They will also face Italy and Serbia in Shenzhen, China before traveling to Jakarta, Indonesia.

FIBA