William-Rosario-Column
06/09/2014
William Rosario's Somewhere in the Americas
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Five in, one out

SAN JUAN (William Rosario's Somewhere in the Americas) - The Group Phase at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup is over and the Americas have a lot to be happy about. Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the USA have moved on to the Quarter-Finals. We have five true continental representatives (two North American, two South American and one Caribbean). What a beautiful thing.

You have to go back two decades to find as many representatives of the Americas playing meaningful in the World Stage. But even then, the stories weren't as inspiring.

This Group Phase has left us the obvious "USA dominance" and "Brasil is pretty good" storylines, but it has also brought us the wonderful "Dominicana and Mexico advance in their first World Cup appearance in more than 38 years" and "Argentina should not be written off" headlines.

Let's tee off with the obvious. The dominance of the USA in the Group Phase is a fact, but so is Spain's. So much so that if you measure the temperature of the "World Cup media and aficionado room", the needle has shifted to where everyone thinks the home team is the favorite to win it all. It'll be interesting to see how this Final Phase and the way tougher road to the championship game for Spain shapes up this argument.

The USA's first opponent in this Final Phase is unfortunately Mexico. The fact that they have made it through to this round is the cherry on top for the Mexicans. What a couple of years for them at the international level!

Starting with the Liga de las Americas championship in 2012 for Pioneros, coupled with the great run to the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship title and this year's Centrobasket dominant performance at home, basketball is definitely back in the country.

This is Mexico's first appearance in 40 years in FIBA's flagship event. Moving past the Group Phase, even if it means facing off against the defending world champs, could not mean more for a national team that needs all the support they can get moving forward.

The Dominican Republic is the other great story coming out of the Group Phase. Who could see this coming? Nobody. Well, Rafael Uribe (the president of the national federation) and Eduardo Najri (national team general manager) did. Those two have been responsible for turning the page from the "Al Horford-less" to the "We have a chance to move on" Dominicans.

The message has been received by the players. The on-court leadership of Francisco Garcia and Jack Michael Martinez has been key for a team that is now officially the "King of the Caribbean". It's been 38 years for them since they were last seen on the world stage. Cheers for making it through hermanos dominicanos, couldn't be happier for you. Slovenia is a tough match-up, but not an impossible one... there might be more stored for you guys, so hang on.

Argentina and Brazil will write another chapter in their historic rivalry in the Final Phase. They both arrive on a high note and their respective performances in Spain have been great. Now they face off once again on the biggest stage of them all. We'll lose a representative in the process, but basketball will gain another classic in the process, so it'll be worth it.

Brazil has been as good as advertised. They have a potent roster that has performed up to task so far, excluding the loss against Spain, that spoke more about the greatness of the home team than the weaknesses of the South Americans. They are poised to make a run at the podium. They have to beat their arch-nemesis first. Ruben Magnano will face the national team he once led to glory. History is not on his side. The last two big and defining match-ups between the two squads - the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship Final and in the 2012 Olympic Quarter-Final - went to Argentina. 

And of course they met at this stage of the competition in Turkey four years ago, with Luis Scola erupting for 38 points.

Maybe this will be the time when Brazil overcome the hurdle and move on.

Argentina has something to say about it though. Their Group Phase performance has been exciting and encouraging. Of course Scola, Andres Nocioni and Pablo Prigioni have been as great as expected, but it has been the play of their youngsters Facundo Campazzo and Nicola Laprovittola, along with the top form return of Walter Herrmann that have made it a fantastic World Cup for Argentina so far. They are looking for more.

I wouldn't put anything past a team led by Scola, Nocioni and Prigioni. We've all seen them produce miracles before.

The one sad story for the Americas is Puerto Rico and the fact that they could not advance. All I will say about that for now is that the island deserved better, from everybody involved. Talent was not the issue. A country that has produced greats like Juan "Pachin" Vicens, Teo Cruz, Raymond Dalmau, Jerome Mincy and Jose "Piculin" Ortiz, cannot afford to lack pride, heart and desire in a World Cup stage. What a shame. Major changes should be on the way...on every front.

So, five teams from the Americas will play in this Final Phase, four of them against each other. We'll lose two for sure, but getting here is a victory in itself. Let's enjoy this final week of the basketball championship in the world and be happy with the fact that basketball has grown in our continent. This is now a fact.

William Rosario

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.

William Rosario

William Rosario

If you want the jet-lagged musings of a guy who spends half the year living basketball in the Americas right there in the organisational trenches of the continent's senior and youth championships, along with the South American and FIBA Americas League, then this column is definitely for you. William Rosario, FIBA Americas Communications Director by day and filmmaker by night (some nights), joins FIBA's team of columnists from around the world to bring you "Somewhere in the Americas".