MEDELLIN (Colombia) – The Colombian Basketball Federation continues its permanent task of achieving a rebirth and getting, once again, to a World Cup and to the Olympic Games. The Colombian team of Copacabana de Antioquia won the South American Basketball League of Women’s Clubs in Argentina — taking home a gold medal that exalts basketball in the South American nation. Also, this month, the city of Medellín will welcome FIBA and the NBA and their Basketball Without Borders, a camp that will start on June 24 and help the region's young players to showcase their talents to the world.

The Final Four of the Liga Sudamericana took place in Santiago del Estero, Argentina, in the last week of May and in June. There, Colombia's representatives Copacabana de Antioquia were crowned champions in what was the nation’s first title; breaking the Brazilian supremacy in the tournament.

The Colombian team concluded with a perfect score, a product of the effort and the good work of the players and the technical team commandeered by Luis Cuenca.

When the time came to play at Liga Sudamericana, only 10 players could travel, making a great effort to arrive at Santiago del Estero, Argentina, confirming their presence last-minute after a Brazilian team announced they weren't going to participate, and a subsequent petition by the South American Basketball Confederation (CONSUBASQUET).

The result of all efforts was the gold medal, a medal to continue to make history and taking Colombia’s name to new heights. Tatiana Mosquera was elected as the Tournament's MVP.

“We accomplished our goals and objectives, I'm very proud of our team. Las Guerreras are the best; they are the present and the future of women’s basketball in Colombia. We defeated Argentina’s champions, Quimsa, and with that, our mission has been accomplished. We did it. It was a struggle, a great struggle to beat Santiago del Estero. I don't know how we did it, but we did it, and in the end, we reached our goal,” said to FIBA.basketball the President of the Colombian Basketball Federation, Jorge Armando García.

“In the bicentennial, we’ll continue to build peace with basketball. In Colombia, basketball moves with energy and love. The Federation has undergone a great transformation in its development. We've achieved a success that have never been seen in the history of Colombian basketball, such as qualifying to the World Cup, being champions of the Juegos Bolivarianos, the Central American and South American Games, and because we've hosted international tournaments in Colombia and have selections in younger categories that today are very well known,” added the Colombian directive.

Another one of the important moments this year for the Federation is the NBA's and FIBA’s visit to celebrate the 10th edition of Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Americas in the Iván de Bedout Coliseum in Medellín (June 24-27). This is the first time that the NBA and FIBA celebrate a common global event in our country.

Colombia’s arrival at this camp is of the utmost importance because it will bring together the best 64 youth prospects — women and men — of 18 countries and territories of all Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Colombia welcomes the NBA and the future of basketball in the Americas. We're quite pleased to host this event, which will place all the sights on our nation. They’ve trusted in us and we're ready to welcome them in an up and coming city like Medellin, where basketball in Colombia is developing the most, and we want this to help us achieve our dream of being in a World Cup or in the Olympic Games,” said García.

Eleven Colombian prospects are part of the BWB Camp. Seven women: Gabriela Chivata, Julieth Rivera, Carolina Rojos, Esperanza Morales, Daniela González, Karol Yara and Naylee Cortés; and four men: Felipe García, Miguel Lozada, Benjamín Palacios, and Rayner Torres. They will have the chance to listen to players and coaches sharing their knowledge and experience through several activities as movement efficiency, abilities development, five on five games, and daily workshops on skills for life that are focused on health, leadership, and communication.

Colombia will try — through their representatives and in international tournaments, camps, and workshops — to apply everything they've learned and continue in the path to growing to reach the proposed objectives at the beginning of the year, in order to strengthen their national team and participate internationally.

FIBA