BRA - Magnano announces side

RIO DE JANEIRO (FIBA Americas Championship/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Brazil will have plenty of experience in the squad as it sets out to qualify for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Point guard Marcelo Huertas, forward Alex Garcia and sharpshooter Guilherme Giovannoni will spearhead the charge in Caracas, Venezuela , where the FIBA Americas Championship will be staged.

National team boss Ruben Magnano has decided not to take big man Rafael Mineiro, who can play power forward and center, but instead will have Caio Torres, Joao Paulo Batista and Rafael Hettsheimeir - three centers who have featured with the side in recent tournaments.

Torres played for Brazil the past two summers at the FIBA Americas Championship in Mar del Plata and at the Olympics. Hettsheimeir was unable to join the squad at the London Games because of a knee problem while Batista last wore the Brazil shirt in a major competition at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

All three figure to have important roles with NBA big men Tiago Splitter, Nene, Anderson Varejao and Vitor Faverani unavailable.

Magnano has also included 21-year-old Cristiano Silva Felicio, a standout performer at the 2011 U19 FIBA World Championship.

Felicio competed for Brazil's senior team last year at the South American Championship.

Brazil will need a top four finish at the FIBA Americas Championship to clinch a spot at the World Cup.

Magnano's side will take on Uruguay, Puerto Rico, Canada and Jamaica in Group A.

Brazil squad for FIBA Americas Championship: Alex Garcia, Arthur Luiz Belchor Silva, Caio Torres, Cristiano Silva Felicio, Guilherme Giovannoni, Joao Paulo Batista, Larry James Taylor Jr, Marcelo Huertas, Raul Neto, Rafael Freire Luz, Rafael Hettsheimeir and Vitor Alves Benite.

FIBA