MADRID (South American Championship/2016 Rio Olympics) -  Nestor 'Che' Garcia remembers the days and weeks before Venezuela's magical run to the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship crown and how he delivered sermon after sermon on the need for everyone to be together on defense.

A terrific defense can carry a team a long, long way and so it proved for the Vinotinto, who upset Canada in last year's Semi-Finals before beating Argentina in the title game.

It's not surprising, then, that the first order of business for Garcia and Venezuela is getting the defense right at the team's training camp in Spain.

Garcia took his players to the Iberian Peninsula last year and has done so again ahead of the South American Championship, which Venezuela are hosting from 26 June to 2 July.
The team will one month later play at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

"I like very much what I have seen," Garcia said at the team's base in Madrid. "We are mostly working on defense. We're adding some new things. We are thinking that we have to have a jump in quality for everything that is coming because in the South American Championship and at the Olympics, we are going to face tall people and we are trying to add things that help us make up for our lack of height."

Garcia thinks his players do have certain qualities that will allow them to compete against the best.

"We have athleticism, quickness and heart, so we are working on that, on how to defend the ball," he said.

Garcia will know that every summer is different and that a title last year does not guarantee success in 2016. But he's more than happy for his players, and the fans, to remember the good times from Mexico City because it serves as a reminder of what can happen with a lot of hard work and determination.

Another positive aspect to Venezuela's players being together again, meanwhile, is the bonding that takes place. Garcia clearly loves the time off the court with his players as much as he does when they're practicing and playing.

FIBA