CARACAS (South American Championship) - Peru wants to make the South American Championship a launching pad for a project that aims to improve the level of basketball, pointing to the 2019 Pan American Games, which Peru will host.

The road will not be easy. That’s because Peru did not have international participation with the national team between 2001 and 2014 and that cannot be disguised.

Paraguay coach Carlos Zanelatto has the responsibility of leading this project.

"Peru is recovering from a long period of absence from the international circuit. Adding to that is the fact that basketball in the country is not professional. For these reasons we know that it will be difficult to deal with teams that do have professional players. That is why we have been preparing with the intention of closing the gap we have with neighboring countries. At the same time, we want to develop a game identity for the national team. This is a situation that will take several years to reverse and speed depends on how fast the sport can evolve in the country," was the diagnosis of the coach.

Basketball in Peru is amateur. But in the South American Championship they will face several teams made up of only professional players, generating a particular situation.

"We are realistic and know it will be very hard to play against teams made up of professional players. However, one of the things I’m motivated by is the courage of my players, knowing that they will face the challenge head on," said the coach.

Even with this scenario Peru set some moderate objectives for the South American Championship that will begin on Sunday, June 26 June. Modest goals that generate progress for players that lack international experience.

"That for many of my players competing internationally it is not a common occurrence is something that affects us. At the last South American Championship, two years ago, for many of the players it was their first international tournament and that definitely plays against it, you do not have benchmarks. We want to finish in the top eight teams of the tournament. That would mark an improvement and encouragement, in a long-term process that we are beginning, looking forward to the 2019 Pan American Games," said the Peruvian Coach.

Of the Peruvian squad that will participate in the South American Championship there are seven players who were in the previous edition.

"We started training with 25 players, including 17 from teams of Lima, and eight of clubs from the interior of the country. While we have a list of players with Peruvian background who are in the United States for this tournament we ncould only finish the efforts to incorporate Kyle Fuller, who is the son of a Peruvian mother and is a guard that has played at Vanderbilt University and he will help us out a lot".

The Peruvian national team scheduled four games of preparation for the South American Championship. Against Chile they lost both games, 61-56 and 75-60, and later they fell to Paraguay, 67-52.

"Work began in March, meeting at the weekend with the players of the capital. Then we had 15 full days with the preliminary list" he added.

Peru's basketball won respect at the 30s with outstanding performances and that held on for nearly 40 years. However, mid-70s the sporting level dropped, marking a setback that caused them to lose the competitive level, even among South American countries.

"After a time when Peru was competitive, the trend in the world was to professionalize basketball, which did not happen in Peru, where it remained amateur. Since 2011, Peru has a National League. Is a competition that even with its limitations, is raising the bar for all teams who want to win the title of national champion, especially for teams from the inside that are closing the gap with the teams of the capital," analyzed Zanelatto.

As for the adult teams, the Peruvian Federation presented several projects to continue working with the group of the best national players.

According to the coach, "we are also working with the lower categories, something that has presented several improvements in both the U15 and U17. We hope that these developments may soon join the adult team."

FIBA