QUITO — A great feat. That’s what Ecuador’s U-15 women’s national team did, who were runners-up in the last U15 Campeonato Sudamericano that took place in Aysén, Chile, taking home the silver medal. This position allowed “El Tri” to make history because, for the first time in their history, they qualified to a FIBA Americas U-16 Women's Championship, which will be taking place in 2019, with four spots up for grabs to the category's FIBA Basketball World Cup.

The team led by Argentine coach Miguel Salvitelli managed a great feat after defeating Argentina and Venezuela and taking the second place.

Ensuring a triumph in the start against the powerful Venezuelan team, 70-44, they defeated the Paraguayan team in a very close game (60-64), where they assured their qualification to the Semi-Finals.

“The girls’ experience in important tournaments have helped them to be confident in difficult moments,” added the coach who was recently champion in the U-16 national league with ADN Guayas, who won undefeated.

At an individual level, Evelin Pilay was the most outstanding — she was the best scorer in the Semi-Finals and Final. Sami Bacilio and Daleska Prado were also important for the team led by Salvitelli.

Sami Bacilio, 15, is the Captain of the Ecuadorian team, and with her childhood dreams still intact, shares her impressions on the journey: “We thought that we weren't getting so far. The last position in an international tournament had been a sixth place, and now we think and feel that everything happened too fast. We defeated Venezuela in a re-match and Paraguay in a tight game.”

 
“The most important thing, and the first thing, was to train hard to get to a good spot. We contributed something special in the court. Our coach had said to us that we had to make our country proud and that when we sang the anthem, we had to do it as if it were the last time, we'd sing it in our lives,” shared Sami about her personal experience.

The third match was against Brazil, to define the first and second place of Group A, where they were defeated, 62-55.

With the qualifying teams defined, the Semi-Finals encounter was against Argentina, in a very tactical game on the technical side, and heart stopping in the final stage. The Ecuadorians achieved a historic victory, 62-51, qualified to the final and managed to save a spot for the U-16 Women’s FIBA Americas Championship.

“It's not only a historic feat, it’s beautiful, it's dignified, and all sacrifices are worth it. Congratulations, Ecuador, for this second place. Now let's focus on the World Cup Qualifiers,” said the President of the Ecuadorian Basketball Federation, José Arévalo, through his Twitter account.

“When we won both games and saw that we could give a medal to our country, we got very excited, we hadn't achieved something like this. We'd never played against a team like Argentina. It was an incredible and unique experience to demonstrate that all players are the same and that we can get far with a lot of strength and humbleness,” Sami highlighted.

In the tournament’s Final, the showdown was against host team Chile, who left Brazil out of the way in the Semi-Finals. Salvitelli, the coach for Ecuador, did all in his power to shorten distances, but the result was 61-43.

“Winning the silver medal and going on to the Qualifiers is incredible, it's the best. We want to get to that because our idea was to get a fifth place,” assured the Captain who, according to FIBA statistics, was outstanding in rebounds.

The Chile and Ecuador Final was something never before seen, but it was no surprise for Chilean coach Warren Espinosa, who said that it portrayed a development of basketball throughout the region. “Before it was impossible to consider a Final were Brazil or Argentina weren't present,” he stated.

The national team returned to Ecuador with a silver medal across their chest and began their preparation process to get in their best shape to the next tournament.

“We're already practicing. We're called every two weekends in different parts of the cities to see who will get there this year. I help my teammates a lot in our practices. The experience we've had is unforgettable.”

The roster that achieved the feat in Chile were Daleska Prado, Receba Carrión, María Emilia Sarmiento, Gabriela Oviedo, Evelyn Pilay, Daniela Argüello, Samy Bacilio, Paulina Vaicekauskas, Waleska Pulla, Blanca Quiñonez, Evelyn Castillo and Ana Espinosa. They were joined by their technical and medical team: Miguel Salvitelli (coach), Víctor González (assistant coach), Rodolfo Parra (physical therapist), and Jheny Díaz (Ecuadorian Basketball Federation delegate).

FIBA