Dominicans hoping balance brings them back to world U17 elite
SANTO DOMINGO (FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017) - Dominican Republic used a very balanced team effort to qualify for the FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017 and hope that equivalence within the team ca
SANTO DOMINGO (FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017) - Dominican Republic used a very balanced team effort to qualify for the FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017 and hope that equivalence within the team can bring them back to the global stage at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup.
The Dominicans have qualified for the FIBA U16 Americas Championship for the second straight time and will aim to finish among the top two in their four-team group from 14-18 June in Argentina to reach the U17 showcase next summer.
"We expect to be one of the medalists in the tournament," Dominican Republic youth national teams director Jose Mercedes said.
"(Qualifying for FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018) would set a historic precedent for Dominican basketball. It would allow us to establish ourselves in the Americas as a developing country; place ourselves in the elite of world basketball in that category; and evaluate our performance as a program."Jose Mercedes
A top four showing would send the Central Americans back to the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup for the second time after making their debut last summer at Zaragoza 2016.
"It would set a historic precedent for Dominican basketball," Mercedes said. "It would allow us to establish ourselves in the Americas as a developing country; place ourselves in the elite of world basketball in that category; and evaluate our performance as a program."
On top of those three strong U16/U17 summers, the Dominicans have also played at two FIBA U18 Americas Championships in a row as well.
"The federation has continued to strengthen and create areas of professional quality to the youth program by investing in economics, technical advances, nutrition and health, supported hand in hand by the sports ministry," Mercedes said.
The next step in the development will be in June in Formosa, where the Dominicans need a top-four showing to come back to Argentina, which will be hosting the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018.
"That balance helps us to have more effectiveness as a team. We have in mind the tournament degree of difficulty through which we have the opportunity to reach the (FIBA U17 Basketball) World Cup in only three games."Jose Mercedes
"We need to continue our overall work planning as a program and have more friendly games with countries that have a good competitive level," Mercedes said as to what the team must to do be successful this summer.
He said some of the team’s strengths are their athleticism, physical conditioning as well as technical maturity.
Another major key to the Dominican team could be its balance - if they play like they did at the CentroBasket U15 Championship 2016. Last summer, five players averaged between 9.8-12.8 points; three had between 6.2-8.6 rebounds; five dished out between 2.6-3.8 assists; and four grabbed between 2.2-3.4 steals.
"That balance helps us to have more effectiveness as a team," said Mercedes. "We have in mind the tournament degree of difficulty through which we have the opportunity to reach the (FIBA U17 Basketball) World Cup in only three games."
FIBA