Five key questions heading into the 2025 AmeriCup Qualifiers

MIAMI (United States) – February has arrived and that means it’s time for national team basketball. In this case, we’re talking about the first window of the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers, to be played between the 22nd and 26th.

These Qualifiers mark the beginning of a new cycle for the 16 participating teams, underscoring the importance on getting off on the right foot. High-pedigree nations like United States, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and Puerto Rico will look to maintain their dominance over the region, while others will try to remain competitive or continue growing.

These are the 5 key questions ahead of Window 1:

Can Colombia or Chile be the surprise of Group A?

With Venezuela, in theory, entering a rebuilding phase, Chileans and Colombians could be poised to notch some victories. These two countries have shown interesting things in recent years, and their growth has been concrete and reflected in the number of players playing overseas. In Colombia’s case, they have stalwarts like Jaime Echenique, Juan Tello, Braian Angola, Hansel Atencia and Andrés Ibargüen, among others, while Chile boasts talents like Sebastián Herrera, Nicolás Carvacho, Manny Suárez, Ignacio Arroyo and Darrol Jones. It’s true that, their talent notwithstanding, these teams haven’t yet achieved great results in the region, but it seems like their time has come.

Can Paraguay break their winless streak?

Taking into account the 2019 and 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers and the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup Qualifiers, Paraguay doesn’t have victories in any of their last 17 games, so that will be their first objective. They will share Group B with Brazil, Uruguay and Panama, so they’ll have their work cut out for them. To have any chance, many of their players will need to step up to join Rodney Mercado, who was their best player during the Pre-Qualifiers after averaging 19.3 points per game. Juan Poison also had a solid showing with 10.7 points and 7.0 rebounds.

How will Nicaragua fare at the highest continental level?

The Central American country, hosts of the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup, will compete at the highest continental level for the first time. They already had a good showing during the Pre-Qualifiers, where they beat a pair solid Caribbean squads like Virgin Islands and Cuba. Despite having their berth secure for the tournament, they’ll still participate in these Qualifiers and will share Group C with Canada, Dominican Republic and Mexico. Beyond the outcome of the games, the most important thing for them is to look competitive in order to generate enthusiasm heading into the 2025 AmeriCup.

As was seen during the Pre-Qualifiers, Puerto Rican head coach David Rosario made a good impression at the helm of a national team that features Jared Ruiz, Francisco Garth and Barthel Lopez and the possibility of adding the country’s top prospect, power forward Norchad Omier, a University of Miami star currently playing NCAA Division I basketball.

Can USA and Canada finish undefeated without their best players?

The North American representatives finished fourth and third, respectively, at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. They’re far and away the most dangerous teams of the region when at full strength, but when their stars are not available, like in these Qualifiers, they logically become more beatable. At the most recent continental events (2019 and 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers and 2022 FIBA AmeriCup), without their NBA players, USA and Canada suffered 7 losses each.

Can Cuba finish among the top 3 in Group D?

If talent were the only consideration, Cuba could go head-to-head with USA, Puerto Rico and Bahamas. They currently have Jasiel Rivero, Javier Justiz, Karel Guzmán and Yoanki Mencia playing in the top European leagues, and Pedro Bombino and Marcos Chacón in Argentina’s LNB, but those players haven’t been able to bond yet and that’s why the national team hasn’t had good results recently. On paper it seems that their best chance is against Bahamas, but that squad is also expected to be loaded for this event as they prepare for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament this summer.

FIBA